Black and Blue
by bitchinblackframedglasses
Summary: The path of one fractured soul meets three unnatural people in a twist of fate. It'll be up to Aidan, Josh, and Sally to put her together again. Violence, Gore, Language. Rated M for a reason. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Waking up is always the worst part.

Yeah, I'm a werewolf. It totally sucks balls, but hey, life's not fair. So, here I was, waking up from another agonizing night under the full moon. It was the same as always. As a wolf, I always seemed calm, like I'd finally released anger growing inside of me. At the end of every night, I'd curl up at the base of a tree. Unfortunately, in the morning, I'd be naked, practically lost in the woods. I'd have to find my way back and pretend like I hadn't just burst out of my skin and into a wolf. I couldn't lie; the woods around Boston were nice, private, and mostly free of large wild animals (excluding myself). But after a transformation my joints were robotic, my muscles screaming. It made me _really_ hungry, but also really weak. After picking up my pathetic self off of the forest floor, I wandered back to where I'd ditched my clothes and started getting dressed. Of course, since life obviously fucking _hates_ me, it started to sprinkle slightly, making me shiver and sneeze once or twice. Getting sick was exactly what I needed on top of everything else.

I was a scrawny, sixteen year old homeless girl with a foul mouth, living on the streets of Boston. To top it all off, I was a murderous evil werewolf, and it was impossible for me to live safely with other humans. Therefore, I was alone in this sick world we were living in, and falling ill would just be the icing on the cake. If it would kill me, that would be _fantastic,_ but I'd tried suicide before. Werewolves, however, healed faster than Jesus Christ. I'd jumped off of two seven story buildings and a cliff, but I'd always healed back up perfectly in a week or two. Disease and illness were just a bother; only making me _feel_ bad, not doing any actual damage.

Once I had all my shit together, I limped out of the woods. The only bone that hadn't healed properly from my suicide attempts was my left hip- permanently giving me a limp. It made me look like I had swagger, which was helpful on the streets when other homeless souls tried to fuck you up. As I approached the bus stop, as usual, I was surprised to see someone waiting for the 4:30 am bus. Usually, only the crack addicts and the truly insane were out at this hour (hence why _I_ was out). Suddenly, I felt wildly embarrassed about what I was wearing: some kid's pajama top that fit me like a glove and showed half of my stomach, a men's pair of sweat pants with the elastic cut out of the bottoms that sat so low my hip bones showed, and bare feet. I looked like a hooker on a casual Friday. I was also covered in dirt, scratches and lots of blood from being all wolfy in the woods, so I looked like a zombie hooker.

Arriving at the bus stop, I stuck my hands deep in my pockets, looking straight ahead, as if kids my age were always out this early looking as such. The guy next to me was young, and had the whole 'dark and mysterious' thing going for him. He was incredibly pale and looked very…thoughtful. Maybe he was thinking about how much crack he could sell; he looked just like some of the dealers on the street. But then, I started to notice how he _stared _at me, as if he was seeing right into my head. I didn't like it. He couldn't have been a drug dealer, not with the way he was looking at me. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Fed up, I finally turned to look at him, raising my eyebrows dangerously. "What the fuck are you looking at?" I snapped, and he looked swiftly away. I usually had that affect on people; a young looking girl with a mouth like mine was certainly unforgettable. "That's what I thought." I muttered, satisfied that he'd looked away. I turned to face the front again, impatiently tapping my foot for the bus. My body was screaming, and all I wanted to do was find a place to sleep. As I tapped, I suddenly coughed heavily, the sound wet and raw. Great, so I had gotten sick from the rain shower. Perfect, just _fucking_ perfect.

"I know what you are," The man said suddenly and firmly, leaning over his knees and looking fixedly at the ground. Chills went up my spine as he continued effortlessly. "I know that you're a werewolf." I gasped as he uttered the word, turning to look at him. How the _fuck_ did he know? No one knew except for other werewolves and vampires, and, hell, I'd met only a few of them, and none were very happy to see me. I turned, looking at him with a hard stare. Even if he did know (which meant he was a vampire, a very comforting thought), I wasn't going to let him fuck with me, no sir. I barked a hard laugh, putting a hand on my hip. My language had scared him away before, I could do it again.

"Ok, why don't you fuck off and go back to the mental institution you escaped from, alright? Go back to your fairytales." I said roughly, but it came out sounding the tiniest bit unsure, something I hated. I leaned against the pole holding the bus stop sign, ignoring him as much as possible. With a tiny flicking noise, the vampire's fangs suddenly slid out. I turned fast and leapt back a step, almost reaching for the switchblade knife I kept on me. "What, you want a go? Go ahead, you'd be doing me a goddamn favor," I growled without a second thought, hands clenching into fists. If he wanted a fucking fight, he'd get one. I'd fought vampires before. It wasn't pretty, but I'd certainly kicked _some_ ass before they totally annihilated me. Before either of us could say another word, the 4:30 am bus rumbled around the corner and stopped. I didn't look away from the vampire's eyes as the doors opened.

"Getting on?" The driver asked in a bored voice. Shooting the bloodsucker one last look of pure hatred, I boarded the bus with a scowl. The bus ride was long but quiet, something I appreciated. I was getting a headache, as usual. It came with the territory of being a monster.

**OoOoOoO**

About three weeks later, I found myself playing a game of poker for some weed and some cash. I always needed _something_ to take away all the goddamn pain. Whether it was crack, weed, stolen pain meds, alcohol, I didn't care. I'd always needed something hardcore to take the pain away. As we played, I noticed a hulking shape standing deep in the corner a few feet away, leaning against some boxes. It took a puff of its cigarette and flicked the ash onto its shoe and then kicked it, letting me know instantly who it was. The person was Ray, a fucking perverted werewolf who thought I should 'mate' with him to start a race of werewolves. The guy was nuts, and he wouldn't leave me the _fuck_ alone, no matter where I went or how hard I beat the shit out of him. Suddenly furious, I stood up. "Get the fuck out of here!" I yelled, and the poker game broke up. On the street, if you didn't have to be in a fight you wouldn't get in one. "I told you to stay the hell away, Ray!"

"Don't act like that," Ray growled in what he probably thought was a 'seductive' way, stepping out of the dark. Sensing a fight, the people playing poker with me quickly started to pack up. I didn't blame them; this was going to get ugly. If I had to kill Ray this time I was going to do it. I was sixteen, and he was, like, sixty five. That was _forty nine _goddamn years that he had on me.

"Why don't you come over here, you fucking jackwagon, and tell me how to act. Yeah, get your pussy ass over here so I can beat the shit out of it." I challenged, and spat on the ground when he came forward. The moon was almost out, and I could feel my wolf get as close to the surface as possible, as if it was right under my skin. Suddenly, Ray went in for a punch. With a quick flick, I pulled out my switchblade and held it right under his chin, not at all remorseful, the wolf buzzing in my ears. "Give me a reason, Ray, not to kill you right here? How'd you like that, huh? Do you want me to bash your fucking brains out all over this alley?" I hissed harshly, pressing down on the knife when he moved to punch anyway.

"Hey," a voice called cautiously, and I heard someone behind us step forward. I felt my shoulders knot together as my whole body tensed, not looking away from Ray, whose eyes were gleaming with hatred and something more. As I got a whiff of the stranger's scent, I realized it was that same goddamn vamp from my last transformation. Didn't he have anything better to do?

"I told you to leave me the fuck alone, bloodsucker," I called, then cut a huge gash across Ray's cheek, kicked him hard in the privates, then brought my hand down across the back of his neck, making him choke. After a few kicks to the ribs, making sure that he wasn't going to get up and attack me, I turned and stalked over to the vampire, eyes flashing. "What's the matter, don't like werewolves? Is my blood not fucking good enough for your palette?" I demanded, and clenched my fist around my knife, stopping in front of him. Ray's blood dripped off the tip. The vampire looked just as polished and put together as he had the last time.

"To the contrary," he said calmly, and stepped aside, letting his companion into better light. My eyes narrowed, and the guy looked down like a bashful little kid. At first, I thought he was human until I smelt the strong scent of werewolf on him. I barely fought down the urge to laugh as the guy looked up with freaking _Bambi_ eyes and then looked quickly away from my hard gaze. He reeked of vamp, something I found odd. Werewolves and vampires didn't mix.

"What, you have a fucking pet? Oh, that's really nice, that's just great. Take your little dog back home and fuck off. I don't want to see you again, got it?" I asked, raising the knife. I wasn't going to let this vampire make me his second little pet, if that's what he was after. He seriously needed to _back off._

"Pet?" Bambi spluttered, raising his head with sudden boldness. "I'm not his _pet. _We're roommates." I blinked, surprised, then barked out a laugh.

"Well aren't you two just living the fucking American dream." I mocked, closing the blade and shoving the knife in my pocket. "Whatever, I honestly couldn't give a shit. Go fuck yourselves, alright? Do everyone a favor." I started to walk away but stopped for a second, coughing hard into the crook of my arm when my lungs seared with pain, forced to reach out for the wall of the alley to hold myself up. I'd been doing that ever since my last transformation and it was as irritating as shit. I probably could help myself out by drinking instead of doing weed to make my terrible life fade away for a day or two, but weed was cheaper than booze.

"Do you need help?" The vamp asked, and I nearly turned around and throttled him. Would it make him feel better if he was charitable to the little werewolf girl? His one comment made me so angry that the wolf nearly escaped. I slowly stood up straight, fists clenching tight. After trembling for about a second, I forced myself to relax, to shove the wolf away…for now.

"_Fuck off!'_" I shouted over my shoulder before loping out of the alley and angrily starting off down the sidewalk. If I _ever _saw that vamp again I was going to beat him to little bloody pieces and then burn his sparkly ass.

**So, now you've met my little werewolf! Yes, she's offensive and swears _a lot_, but that's her character. Bear with it, please, just for a few more chapters. She settles down a bit. No one else swears like her, I promise. **

**blackorchestrafreak**


	2. Chapter 2

Time flew by. The vamp and his pet left me alone, and I fell easily back into my old routine. For the next two full moons I transformed, coughed, and took something illegal to make me forget how evil I was. I was a murderer, and I'd done terrible, terrible things. I didn't even deserve the shitty life I had. As I moped along the empty streets, I decided to go find a dealer. Everything was easier when I couldn't think.

Crossing the street, I heard a loud screech- and then I was flying. Seconds later, I landed hard on the asphalt street, rolling over myself a few times, pain flooding my shoulder. A fucking_ car _had come out of nowhere, going what felt like forty miles per hour. With a squealing of tires, the car did a donut and sped around me, loud music pouring out of the windows. Unable to stop myself from groaning a little, I rolled onto my good side and swore weakly under my breath. I could tell that my shoulder blade and collar bone were shattered from the impact, and I'd pulled a few muscles at least. A large scrape on my face burned. "Hey, somebody call 911!" A voice yelled, and then someone was brushing my hair out of my eyes. "It'll be ok, just hold on little girl," it was a woman, her face misty and undefined above me. My irritation spiked at her calling me a 'little girl'. Did I _look_ like a little girl? Crying out in pain, I sat up, then used my good hand to push myself to a standing position. I could feel myself shaking, but it would pass. I kept my hurt arm drawn up to my chest so that I wouldn't bump it until the bones reformed. "Please, miss, lie back down! You're hurt!" The woman bolted to her feet, extending an arm towards me, but I gave her such a loathful look that she pulled her hand back. Before I could limp away to nurse my pain by myself (like I wanted to), an ambulance of all goddamn things pulled up.

"It'll all be ok, miss," An EMT told me in a calm, professional voice as his partner got out the gurney. He gingerly put an arm around me, guiding me towards the ambulance.

"Hey, back off, I'm just fine, thanks," I snarled, balking at his touch, his closeness, but he didn't stop.

"Miss, you need to go to the hospital." Said the other EMT, and then, suddenly, he _picked me up_ and put me on the gurney.

"Whoa, whoa, what the fuck-" I started, my voice hoarse, smacking at the EMT as he started to buckle down my legs with straps. My inner wolf roared; it _hated_ being confined.

"Miss, just try to relax. Miss, lie down." One of the EMT's was instructing as they picked up the gurney and put it in the ambulance. The world disappeared as the doors closed and the van of death started up. The ride there was _not_ pleasant. I slapped an EMT as he tried to give me an IV, and called one of them a 'fucking gay princess'. Nothing worked. As the wheeled me into an elevator in the hospital, I started to kick my legs, my super werewolf strength powers coming in handy as they easily started to break. "Miss, please don't-" The EMT started as the doors opened, a nurse striding over immediately.

"Get your fucking hands off me!" I almost bellowed, trying not to panic, using my unhurt arm to rip away the remains of the straps. "I told you I was fine, why the hell did you take me to the goddamn hospital!" I went to slide off the gurney.

"Miss, you need to calm down." Said the EMT in what was supposed to be an authoritative voice, putting a hand on my shoulder. I violently shook it off.

"Get the fuck off me, you-"I started, but then quickly turned my head away and coughed hard into my arm for a good minute until I was gasping. I'd been so high the other day that I hadn't even remembered that I was sick until just now. My lungs felt like they were burning in my chest.

"Alright, let's get her to a room; start an IV." The nurse said quietly to the EMT's. "Honey, when was the last time you had a tetanus shot?" She asked, moving to touch a large, deep cut on my jaw. I slapped her hand down.

"You try to give me a tetanus shot and I'll shove the syringe so far up your ass—_hey!"_ I shouted as the EMTs pushed me to the nearest room, leaving the nurse standing in shock in the hallway. "Get the fuck away from me-_don't touch me!"_ I shouted when the EMT tried to swab the inside of my arm for an IV. The inner wolf was wild by this point, and I was panicking. I could never be around people-

"What happened?" I heard a voice ask, but I was too focused on glaring so fiercely at the EMT trying to touch my hurt side. He looked quickly down, the look on his face similar to that of a kid who had just shit his pants.

"Hit and run on Concord and Ash streets, a car hit this kid going what, 35 miles and hour? Barely left a scratch, but she's pretty wild." Another voice was summarizing. I turned to tell the EMT talking to go fuck himself when I saw the vamp/werewolf duo from almost two months ago in the doorway. Both were wearing scrubs; _they worked here?_ I swatted weakly at the EMT trying to touch me, barking out another laugh which was hard- I was starting to hyperventilate in an effort not to morph and kill everyone.

"Oh, isn't that just fucking _poetic! _Oh Jesus Christ, that's just great, just goddamn perfect!" I said loudly, enjoying how Bambi flinched. Raising my voice made my lungs sear with pain, and I coughed until my face was bloodless.

"Here," another nurse came in, pulling an IV cart with a syringe on top of it. She handed the shot to the other nurse, who stepped forward.

"Honey, unless you calm down, I'll have to give you this, alright?" She said clearly, and I scowled, pushing myself up with my good arm.

"Why don't you let me _the fuck out of here_ and then you won't have to worry about me?" I shot back, going to push myself out of bed.

"Take it easy now," the EMT cautioned, and caught the supernatural duo's eye, clearly motioning them to come and hold me down. The blood sucker came over right away, but Bambi followed more reluctantly, watching me with his large brown eyes. It was hard to believe that he was a werewolf. He looked like such a girl.

"Get off!" I shouted as the vampire held my good shoulder down, but my voice was hoarse from my last coughing fit. The werewolf finally moved forward and held my legs. "_LET GO!" _I snarled, my voice getting deep and almost guttural when the wolf took over, making my eyes flash. The EMT backed away in shock, but the nurse came over, undeterred. I bucked hard against their touch but then gasped with pain as I rolled my hurt shoulder with a cracking noise. My breath was coming in pants now- didn't they understand that I couldn't be here?

"Hold on now, it'll be ok honey," the female nurse said calmly, as she took the cover off the syringe and advanced. The wolf flipped out and my whole body froze. It let out something between a scream and a sob when the needle poked into my vein. It hurt more than the car crash had. Seconds later, I felt dreamy, my limbs heavy and warm. Then, I was out of it. Even though my body wouldn't respond, my mind stayed clear. Obviously, whatever they gave me wasn't a hard strong dosage. My body burned through drugs like they were water.

"Ah, this is the wild one, Aidan? Poor thing," a low, slow voice said suddenly. "Well, let's take a look." A hand felt gently around my shoulder that was starting to swell. It felt the length of my arm and the back of my shoulder, almost onto my back. "Far too malnourished…How fast was the impact?" the slow voice asked, feeling back around my shoulder. He hit the bundle of nerves there and I leapt inside from the pain. Diluted by the drug, my body only stirred before lying still again as the pain dimmed away.

"Thirty five miles an hour." The vampire responded, the one called Aidan. Suddenly, a hand popped my shoulder back into its socket, erasing about half the pain.

"For such an intense collision, her wounds are very minor. Interesting. Well, I recommend getting a sling and some antibiotics for pneumonia. Also, if we could start Nutritive IV therapy I think that would greatly improve her condition. If there are any more problems, call me down." The doctor suggested after performing a physical on me, and I heard both sets of footsteps leave. For awhile, I was alone, until the vampire came back. He put my arm into a sling, hooked me up to a heart monitor, then started messing with the IV. Easily fighting back the drug (which I'd metabolized already), I opened my eyes and glared at him.

"Do you know where you are?" Aidan asked calmly, and it was so medically professional that I nearly laughed.

"I'm in the hospital with a vampire-werewolf duo." I croaked, then coughed hard. Aidan the vampire shot a look to the hallway, but the place was pretty quiet, considering it was so late.

"Listen, you might live on the street, but Josh and I have worked hard to blend in here. We'd appreciate it if you said nothing about who we are to anyone." He said plainly, but I could see the tension in his frame. He'd also given Bambi a name, one I thought wasn't exactly fitting for one who looked so young and vulnerable.

"Oh, yeah, I can understand that," I said sarcastically, panting a hoarse laugh. Of course he'd be worried about his own goddamn life. Wouldn't it be crazy to have a normal life, have a job? How did these two convince everyone that they were normal?

"What's your name?" Aidan asked, reaching for the chart at the foot of my bed and clicking open the pen.

"Suck it," I groaned, closing my eyes then laughing hoarsely again at my own joke. My headache was back, and I felt like shit. I would _pay _to get out of this place so that I could sleep all of this off for a few days instead of dealing with all this bullshit.

"Look, all we want to do is help. A name would be nice." Aidan said patiently, and I locked eyes with him for a moment, trying to hide my shock and hurt. That was the last thing my parents had ever said to me…but that was a long time ago.

"Lauren," I admitted finally, looking down at the IV in my arm. The wolf was slightly calmer now that I was remembering faintly my past experiences with hospitals and medicine. I could barely remember, which was making the whole 'staying calm and not ripping off anyone's face' difficult.

"Last name?" Aidan asked, but I just shook my head. There was no way in hell that I was going to let the hospital track me down. I'd be arrested and probably put in a foster home, which wouldn't end well for anyone. "Well, Lauren, your shoulder was dislocated and shattered when the car hit you, and it appears that you have a severe case of pneumonia." The vamp summed up, watching me closely.

"Fucking prick didn't even stop," I muttered, pushing myself up with a wince, vowing to find the bastard and bring a baseball bat with me. "And aren't you forgetting something?" I added slyly, leaving _Aidan _looking bemused. "Lycanthropy?" I suggested hollowly.

"If we could treat that here, we would." Aidan said, setting down the chart. "Now, are there any family members I could contact for you?" As he said it, I flinched. _Fuck, fuck, __**no**__, I can't think about that, not now._ I thought miserably, and tried to focus, tried to ignore how the stupid bloodsucker immediately picked up on the flinch and looked even more concerned than ever.

"Unless you want to go and find Ray," I said bitterly. "Now, when can I get out of this place?"

"Well," Aidan said slowly. His troubled look made me want to scream. He was a vampire with a pet roommate. I was a werewolf. No one had ever cared, and I wasn't about to fall for some act. "You'll need to answer a few questions and complete the antibiotic regimen-"

"Oh, cut the damn bullshit already. _How long?"_ I snapped, then coughed for a minute straight. I didn't like not being able to raise my voice. It was one of my best tools of defense.

"A week at the least." Aidan said, and I swore under my breath, sitting up painfully. The full moon was in a week.

"Fuck no; I'm not staying here that long." I swung my legs to the side, going to get up. Aidan blocked my way and I felt my eyes flash in anger. This bloodsucking assmaggot wasn't going to stop me.

"Lay back down before I make you." He hissed, and we glared at each other. If we were on the street, I'd shove some garlic up his ass. But since I was down to one arm, I had a feeling he'd beat me pretty fast. I spat at him before lying back down, furious at how I'd ended up here. Now everything was fucked because of that car driver who'd hit me. "You're not indestructible, Lauren, you are really ill." Aidan continued, losing his whole 'I'ma beat the shit out of you cause' I'ma vamp' attitude instantly.

"This isn't about being macho, this is about getting the fuck out before I get too much of a waxing gibbous up in here!" I shot back in a fierce whisper, hearing myself sound more and more panicky as I spoke. Even if he didn't give a shit about not hurting humans, I did. I _couldn't_ stay here for that long.

"If you're not out before then, we'll find a way to get you out." Aidan said confidently. His words surprised me so much that I choked, resuming a coughing fit.

"_Why?_ Why do you want to help me?" I demanded weakly after I was done hacking up a lung.

"You're too young to face what you are alone." Aidan said, his face full of inexplicable sorrow. I snorted. This guy was a tutti-frutti little princess. Who would've thought that the heartless vampire would have feelings?

"That's bullshit, I'm fine on my own. I've gotten by just fine on the street, there's no reason for me to stop now." I said firmly, then took deep breaths, as my lungs burned hot. How could I drill these facts into his head? _I don't deserve even your help, bloodsucker. _

"Let's just finish these questions, and then I'll leave you alone." Aidan said after a moment as I glared at the IV, my anger too displaced to focus it at the real problem. "How old are you?" He started, raising the chart again.

"Sixteen," I said sharply, just wanting to get this the fuck over with. Aidan twitched, as if surprised by my answer.

"Any known allergies?"

"Try the full moon," I said scathingly, and rolled my hurt shoulder with a wince. The shattered bone had already reformed; I healed that fast.

"Last medical exam?"

"When I was ten," I responded shortly, the best answer I could give. Why I was answering this honestly I had no idea. Maybe it was the serious and concerned look on the vamp's face, but his reactions seemed pretty legit. My idea that he was a sick vampire trying to fuck with me had flown out the window. I still had to find out what the hell his problem was, and why he and Josh-what's-his-face cared so much.

"Current chronic medical conditions?" Aidan asked and I looked at him in disbelief and a bit of anger. Now he was just asking for it. "_Besides_ the lycanthropy?" he added with a hint of impatience.

"None." I scowled. "Are we done here?" I added, drumming my fingers on the side of the bed, getting more uncomfortable with each passing second.

"Almost. Current medications?"

"I took a hit from a guy on a street corner. Does that count as medical marijuana?" I asked sarcastically, trying to end this conversation as soon as possible by being uncooperative.

"Finally, do you smoke or commonly drink alcohol?" Aidan asked, and I barked another laugh until I was almost crying. If only he knew. I laughed until my lungs burned.

"Get the hell out," I wheezed finally, and Aidan actually left, taking the chart with him and closing the door.


	3. Chapter 3

I found out that my doctor's name was Ralmen, and that he cared just as much as Josh and Aidan, the charitable fuckheads. He got all of the nursing staff to pity me, and when he went to have me get X-rays it felt like a funeral procession. These people were wasting their time caring about me, and it hurt, a lot. I passed it off as irritation (I wasn't totally faking, hospitals were places of hell) and nobody pressed me on it.

The longer I stayed, the crazier the inner wolf got. The hospital tried pulling all kinds of bullshit on me, and since I was healing at a breakneck pace, I gladly got my voice back.

"Don't give me that shit, you fucking tool!" I yelled mercilessly at an intern trying to get me to sign forms. "I'm not signing any bullshit forms!" I picked up the clipboard and threw it at him so hard he skidded out of the room.

"Thank god you're here," I heard one of the older nurses say to someone as the intern scuttled away. "Nobody can calm the poor young lady down, and she seems to burn through sedatives no matter how much we give her." She continued, and I nearly laughed. These people were idiots.

"Well, let me at 'er!" a voice proclaimed awkwardly, and there was dead silence for a moment.

"Come on," Aidan, a voice I recognized, said and seconds later he was here. "Lauren," Aidan said calmly, coming in and Josh, his little dog, came after.

"Well, fuck me! Look whose back!" I barked out another short laugh, looking at the two before me, slightly glad that I was seeing some kind of a familiar face. The hospital was a giant cage for me, and these two probably held the keys to my release.

"How are you feeling today?" Aidan asked, and I spat on the floor, something that horrified most of the nurses. "Right, well, we need to take your blood pressure and temperature, to see if the antibiotics are having an effect on you." Aidan continued, raising an eyebrow at my spit on the floor.

"They aren't, I tell you right now. Shit like that runs through me like water. Your little friends found that out when they tried to sedate me again." I said in a loud, clear voice, smiling when I heard nurses outside and down the hall twitter nervously among themselves.

"Give me a moment," Aidan said, and left, completely missing the panicked look Josh gave him. Apparently I frightened him. Good. He should run away from me as fast as his little Bambi legs could carry him, even if he was a werewolf.

"So are you just here to look pretty or what?" I asked Josh, brushing some sweaty strands of hair off my forehead with my good hand. I still felt like shit. I hated hospitals, but, more importantly, I hated talking to people.

"Uh, no, um, I'm the orderly." Josh said, then hesitantly took some steps closer. "Look, if you want help changing at the full-"

"Save it, ugly, I don't want anyone's help, much less yours." I interrupted sharply, then coughed hard. I had to put him off of trying to help me as soon as possible. It was too dangerous, even for him. While I coughed, he drew closer yet, which told me that he was still brave enough to push the topic.

"You need help, and you know it. Living on the street obviously isn't doing you any favors. At least go back to your family, for _some_ shelter." Josh said, and I glared at him with such hate that he took a step back. My family was long gone, thanks to me, and he was acting like I could just skip back home and live a normal, hunky dory life again. It was as if he wasn't even a werewolf at all.

"You're family might still be around, but mine's not, ok? I've got _no one_ to go to, and _no one_ cares." I said quietly, even though I wanted to scream it. "So why don't you take all of your feelings and fucking shove them up your ass, because they'll do you a hell of a lot more good than they will me."

"I'm not going to give up," Josh said quietly after a moment, and I looked up in surprise yet anger. Could this guy not take a hint? "I don't care how many fronts you put up; I want to help you, and I will. People like us should stick together." He turned on his heel and left, leaving me in stunned silence as Aidan came back in, carrying a blood pressure patch, thermometer pack, and another syringe full of antibiotics. _What the fuck?_

"What did he tell you?" He asked curiously after taking my blood pressure (192/60) and temperature (100.2). I'd been strangely cooperative, too busy mulling over what Josh had said to me to be difficult.

"None of your goddamn business. Go ask the pretty boy himself." I shot back quietly as Aidan injected another round of antibiotics into my IV.

"Look, Josh hasn't run into that many werewolves, alright? The last one turned out to be his creator, and it turns out that he'd been stalking Josh for the past two years. He's looking for _someone_ that's even remotely put together and normal, like him. It gives him hope." Aidan reprimanded me quietly before leaving. As the door closed behind him, I bowed my head, now feeling even worse. I was suddenly caring about how I made these two feel. I had to accept that they weren't trying to fuck with me, that they actually wanted to help. The prospect hurt, and it was so foreign that I wanted to run away screaming.

For my whole miserable existence, I'd been mostly on my own. It'd been six years of hard living on the streets of several different cities. The last people to have ever cared for me were dead, and no one liked a trash talking sixteen year old. The police had been close to arresting me a few times for fights, but they always let me go based on charity reasons. I was small, much too thin homeless girl; of course they'd taken pity on me. The people I'd met on the streets were usually either crazy or downright psychotic, if Ray was any example. He was the first werewolf I'd ever met, and he hit on me like crazy. I was stupid enough to believe for awhile that he'd give me all the answers and I could live normally. Boy, was I wrong. All the vampires I'd ever met had tried and mostly succeeded in beating the living shit out of me. When Aidan and Josh had shown up, it'd completely thrown me for a loop. Here was a nice, well groomed, even _cute_ werewolf and his _roommate_, who was a civilized vampire. The chances of me meeting them had been huge, and then the chances of them actually wanting to help me out were astronomical. It all just seemed too good to be true. _Give in, let them help! You're living on the street for fucks sake. Anything they could offer you would be better. _I thought at first, trying not to fall asleep in the hospital. I **hated** hospitals. It made me nervous to know that I couldn't leave when I wanted to, and that I was always being watched. _Are you fucking nuts? They'll probably make you go to a goddamn high school. Besides, why would they want baggage you've got?_ The other side of my brain (the one that usually won) shouted at my meek little hopeful thoughts. After grappling with the problem for a good half an hour, I feel asleep against my better judgment.

The day passed pretty uneventfully. I slept for most of it; the hospital bed was like a cloud after my usual bed on the street. After lunch everyday, Aidan came back, probably because everyone else who tried to be my nurse was too scared to even look me in the eye. "You're fever has broken." He told me after reading the number off of the thermometer kit one day. It'd gone down to 98.9, which was livable. "Unfortunately, there are still some bacteria in your lungs; you're still coughing. But the numbers are going down, which is good." Aidan summarized. "You'll probably be out of here by tomorrow, maybe the day after."

"I guess that's good news." I replied, and it sounded forced even to me. If I just sucked it up and was at least somewhat civil, maybe this whole nightmarish process would go by faster. Compared to my usual swearing, I actually sounded my age.

"It is good news. It's actually great news. Werewolves recover faster than normal humans, but you're recovery rate is unusually high." Aidan elaborated, trying to cheer me up. I must've looked gloomy or something.

"Maybe it's because I'm so wild." I said humorlessly, but without a mean, sarcastic edge. I never thought that I'd ever have a non violent conversation with a vampire. I never thought I'd have a civil conversation with another werewolf, either. As I thought about Bambi, I felt kind of bad for being such a bitch to him. I didn't want to spill my guts to him and give hope that I could be fucking converted or 'saved' or something, but I had to at least make it up to the poor guy. "Excuse me," I called quickly but timidly, seeing that Aidan was almost to the door. I hadn't used that expression honestly in my whole memory. I wasn't used to being so polite. "Can you get Joshie or whatever his name is back in here?"

"Yes," Aidan said, trying not to crack a smile, and I glared at him. Why the _hell _was that funny? I'd been completely honest, civil, and serious with him and he goes and almost _laughs._ He ducked out before I could unleash a full scowl and I leaned back, closing my eyes. It was more stressful being in this damn hospital than on the street. To make things worse, I heard running footsteps skid to a stop outside and there was a moment where I could hear someone taking deep breaths. I could tell it was Josh/Bambi, and if he was here to try and make me into a normal kid my age then he could go fuck himself. It was surprising and a little creepy to realize that he was excited to help me.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked, closing the door behind him. He looked unusually composed considering he usually acted like a squirrel on crack.

"I-I did. I wanted to ask you something." I said, toying with the tape holding down the IV. I wasn't about to outright ask for help, and I wasn't going to ask a question that would give him leeway to try and change me. But, at this point, I knew that I had to make it up to him; I had to make semi-decent conversation. Unfortunately, the only thing we had in common was lycanthropy. "Did you know your creator?" I blurted out off of the top of my head, seeing that he was about to ask me a question first.

"Not in the beginning." Josh answered finally, stiffening and looking at the floor. "I found out a couple months ago who it was, and that he'd been stalking me for about two years. He was looking for a companion." He explained, his eyes turning unusually hard.

"That sounds like… like Ray. Oh god, its Ray, isn't it? I'm going to kill that fucking douchebag!" I pieced together, my voice rising in anger. That man was the most fucked up person who ever lived. _I_ might deserve to get hell from him, but not this guy.

"Ay, easy, easy," Josh said nervously, shooting a look at the empty (for now) doorway. "Yes, it was Ray, but that doesn't matter anymore. Why do you ask?" He questioned, and my mind went blank. I'd started this conversation aimlessly, having no idea why I was trying to make amends to this guy, and now I'd have to admit something personal. Wonderful. I decided to go with the vaguest route; it'd keep both of us out of more trouble.

"Cause if I find the person who did this to me, killing him wouldn't be enough." I said quietly, unable to keep the deep rage out of my voice. "I wanted to know if it's possible to find the person who changed you."

"…if you want to talk…about anything-" Josh started, but I cut him off. We were _not_ going to even _dream_ of talking about this.

"How many fucking times do I have to say that I _don't_ want to talk?" I groaned, and Josh looked quickly away. Seeing the hurt on his face, I took a deep breath, trying to be civil. Was it so hard for me to not swear every other sentence? "I'm sorry, that was rude. I just- I don't talk. To people. I just don't, ok?" I forced out awkwardly, fidgeting nervously with the sling supporting my hurt shoulder. God, now I sounded more pathetic and fucked up than ever, and that was probably why I _didn't_ talk to people: I sounded psychotic.

"Here," Josh said, pulling out a piece of paper and taking the pen off the chart. He wrote on it for a couple seconds, and then handed it to me. Warily, I accepted it, unfolding it with a flick of my fingers and glancing over it. His script was hasty and slanting, yet very neat, and it spelled out an address. "If you ever want to talk someday, that's my address. It's hard to talk about it, I know." Josh stuck his hands deep in his scrub pockets, rocked awkwardly on his feet for a second, then turned and left, head bowed. Somehow shocked again by this poor man's behavior, I looked back at the address. I still couldn't believe that he lived in a _house. _Like he was _normal. _It seemed so unreachable that I'd usually laugh at anyone for trying. Brow furrowing, I closed the paper again and tucked it into my sling.

Despite my better judgment, I fell asleep again, and I slept for a _long_ time. Somehow, I even cut down on the swearing, even after Aidan and Josh had gone off shift. At about four in the morning, they took out my IV and let me get up and shower, something I seriously appreciated. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd showered. Usually, I just waited for the rain. They washed my strange collection of clothes (including a men's trench coat that I'd added to the ensemble) while I showered, and by five o' clock I was anxious to leave. They'd cured me, whatever. I'd been here too long, the full moon was a day away. Leaning against the door frame of my room, drumming my fingers against my leg, I looked at the clock. Deep down, I wanted to leave before Aidan or Josh tried to help me again. My heart really wanted their help, but when it came to monsters, I was the worst. Finally, I walked over to the nurses' station, my perpetual limp instantly kicking in.

"Hey, when can I blow this joint?" I asked the lady, leaning against the counter.

"When Doctor Ralmen releases you, dear." Donna, the nurse on call replied. They'd called her in from the floor above because she was as tough as nails. It was amazing how powerful werewolf hearing was; I heard _everything_ they said about me.

"And, _when,"_ I asked, raising my voice, tired of this bullshit, "will oh so holy Doctor Ramen noodles come and release me? Or do I have to hunt down the man and-"

"No hunting down will be necessary," His slow, deep voice came from behind me, and I turned lazily, propping myself up on my elbows against the counter. _It's about fucking time. _ Untucking the chart from under his arm, the Doctor unclicked his pen and lowered it to the paper, looking up at me. The lazy grin on my face died, and I stood up straight, putting a hand on my hip, raising an eyebrow. What was he waiting for, an invitation?

"Are you gonna' sign that bitch or what?" I demanded, and he clicked the pen closed again, straightening to his full height.

"Are you in trouble, Lauren? Do you need any help, do you want us to contact anyone for you?" He asked, and I leaned closer, putting one finger on his chest and pushing him back.

"All I want, no, all I goddamn _need_ is to get out of this place so that you and your staff don't have to nurse a bitch anymore, got it? Now sign the damn papers so I can get the fuck out of this dump." I said, not at all worried about lowering my voice. If this was what it took to get out of here, then that was what I was going to do, even if I was a bitch while I did it.

"Fine," the Doctor sighed, exasperated, and signed the papers, handing it over to Donna.

"_Thank you, God!" _I cried with mock exultation, straightening the lapels on my oversized jacket and stepping around the Doctor, walking away in bare feet, which felt weird in the hospital. With a sigh, I got on the elevator, too lazy to walk down the stairs. This would be quicker anyway. Praying that I didn't run into my new supernatural duo, I walked as quickly as my limp allowed.

"Hey-Lauren-_wait!"_ Josh called, _right_ as I got outside. I slowly turned, sitting on the railing of the stairs, forcing myself to be patient. I still had his address, and it was the only 'friend' I could say that I could 'rely on'. "Where-where are you going?" He asked weakly, his thoughts catching up to his actions. Following a force of habit, I spat on the ground. I'd stopped chewing tobacco awhile ago (that shit was _foul_), but the habit had stuck.

"I'm going back where I belong, Bambi; is there something wrong with that?" I asked back, sounding weary.

"Yes! Yes, there _is_ something wrong with that!" Josh nearly yelled, then bit his lip, trying to spit out what he wanted to say. I raised an eyebrow, popping the collar of the trench coat against the wind. Maybe if I just intimidated him away he'd drop this whole missionary thing right here right now. "I don't want you to live on the street. I want you to live in a _hostel, _or a hotel, or my place-" As he ranted, I heard myself laugh bitterly, it coming out in a sharp bark like always.

"There aren't any hostels that will take a minor like me, I don't have money to live in a goddamn hotel, let alone a motel, and why, _why_ would I live with _you?_ No," I said, shaking my head, turning to go.

"Wait, _all I'm trying to do is help you!" _Josh nearly shouted, running down the steps after me, and I froze. He nearly ran into me as I spun around, trying to be angry but I was unable to pull out of my wallowing hurt and self-hatred, and, worse of all, I knew it showed on my face. Swallowing hard, I shoved my hands into the pockets of the coat. I'd have to admit more personal things or hurt him hard to get him to back off now, and I really didn't want to do either. But, since I was worse of a person than him, I decided to beat on myself instead. His eyes had this _look _in them, and they were so big and brown, like a puppy.

"And that's bad enough already. I'm not worth your time, Josh. I'm more of a monster than you'll ever be, and you don't deserve the trouble I'd bring. Forget it, forget _me."_ I said very quietly. Then I quickly turned on my heel and hurried away, disappearing into the crowds of people on the sidewalk, leaving a stunned Josh standing at the foot of the stairs of the hospital.


	4. Chapter 4

The day before my transformation was always long, but it seemed that time had frozen that particular day. As I meandered down the street, the hopelessness and self hate I'd always felt seemed to expand as I remembered the hurt look on Josh's face as I'd turned away. For some reason, it hurt _me_ to refuse him, and I usually never gave a rat's ass about anyone. I rejected other people so strongly for a reason, but this was ridiculous. I could easily bet that I'd see either him or Aidan again in the coming weeks; they wouldn't be able to let it go. Josh probably would've come tonight, but the full moon was this evening, and we'd be…otherwise engaged. Deciding not to spend any time actually on the streets today (Ray would be around), I headed right for the place he didn't dare go; my turf in the woods. I'd stashed my valuables deep in the woods at the very top of an Alpine spruce, and I usually hung out and transformed under the same tree. As it was getting dark, I leaned against the tree, unable to keep my brow from furrowing as I turned Josh's address over and over itself in my fingers. Was his transformation like mine? Where did he go? As I was thinking, I suddenly smelled vamp, and not just any vamp. Furious, I leapt to my feet, stuffing the address out of sight. Aidan was standing calmly a few yards away, a duffel bag in hand. "What the _fuck_ are you doing here, leech? Don't you know what day it is?" I yelled, looking frantically up at the sky. I had five minutes, maybe less, and he _**could not**_ be here when I transformed.

"Relax, Lauren. I'm just here to talk. I'll leave before the moon rises." Aidan said calmly, tossing me the bag, which I caught one handed and distrustfully peered inside, expecting the worst. I was shocked to see that it was full of _clothes. _There were four pairs of jeans, four t-shirts, four pairs of underwear and four bras, all perfectly in my size. _What a fucking creep!_

"Is this your idea of a goddamn joke?" I demanded, throwing the bag on the ground. "Are you some kind of fucking stalker? For fucks sake, you even got my bra size right!"

"I asked the cleaning staff if I could deliver your clothes to your room. And no, it's not a joke. Josh and I are still really-"

"Oh, yes, _you and Josh, _saviors of the crunk street filth. Go join a fucking missionary and _leave me alone!" _ I shouted, and then quickly shoved my hand into my pocket, feeling around until I brought out the switchblade. If I had to beat him up, I would. As I started to raise my arm, about to flick it open, I let out a rough, coarse gasp that choked off at the end, starting to shudder as I felt pain roar down my spine. It was happening, it was happening with a goddamn _vampire_ right in front of me. With a clatter, I dropped the knife, unopened, and threw my head back, jaw clenched. I'd tried to hold back my transformations, but they happened lightning fast no matter how hard I tried to slow them down. "Go-away-" I cried out, starting to struggle frantically out of the trench coat (I didn't want to rip it to shreds), then fell on my hands and knees with the usual feral groan as my heart rate increased rapidly. Everything started to darken as my spine stretched, bones lengthened, and muscles were pulled to their maximum. Then the pain started. It was unbelievable how easy it was to make me scream in pain. It was impossible not to literally _shriek, _as if I was being tortured or something. Writhing on the ground, the last thing I remembered was my clothes bursting off.

Aidan POV

With a final, gut-wrenching scream, a tiny little wolf rolled over in front of me. While Josh was about the size of a large bear, Lauren was about the size of a mountain lion. The wolf raised her head and one large hazel eye took me in. I fully expected Lauren to try and attack me, but, instead, she skidded back, lowering her head meekly. For some reason, her calm, almost scared demeanor as a wolf made me absolutely furious. It was as if her inside was finally exposed on the outside. Something had definitely happened to Lauren, but what? With a half-hearted snarl, she turned and bounded away into the woods, rapidly disappearing as her limping gait took her to the shadow of the bigger trees. Numb with shock, I stumbled out of the woods and sat heavily back on the bench, cradling my head in my hands. I was having a ridiculously emotional reaction to what I'd just seen. She was just…so juvenile, so naïve looking, and then she had a fast, hard and painful change into something equally as…hurt looking. That's the only way I could describe it, picturing in my mind's eye the look in the wolf's eyes before it turned and ran. It reminded me of a dog that'd just been hit; the shocked look of betrayal that I unfortunately used to see on Josh's face. I stayed on the bench all night, now fully understanding how obsessed and worried Josh had been. Around the same time as last time, the staggering figure appeared out of the woods. Looking even more homeless than ever, Lauren limped out into view. She'd put on some of the clothes I'd bought, but she was still wrapped up in the big coat. Her face was covered in dirt, and she looked absolutely miserable. "Don't do that," she whispered, coming to a stop in front of me and the bench. "Don't do that _ever_ again," she sounded incredibly scared and hurt.

"What happened to you, Lauren, and who did it?" I asked lowly after she hastily wiped at her nose and sniffed. She clenched her jaw in frustration and kicked the bus stop sign, denting it.

"No one can know," she said finally, sounding defeated. I stood up fast, making her take a step back, looking guarded. I was tired of the secrets and the mystery. I was going to make her get it all out whether she wanted to or not. _Someone_ had to care for her.

"If you don't spill, Josh and I will follow you until you do." I very nearly growled. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then her toughness kicked in.

"Are you threatening me, Aidan?" She asked, taking a step towards me, getting up in my face.

"No, I'm taking care of you because you obviously don't take care of yourself." I shot back, and moved her back by the shoulders, instantly letting go when she winced, rubbing her hurt shoulder. "Listen, all we want to do is help." I said after taking a deep breath to calm down. Lauren flinched, then covered her face with her hand, shaking her head. "What are you so afraid of?" I asked quietly, curiously, and she looked back up, viciously swiping tears away from her eyes and a bit of mud.

"Myself." She whispered, looking back down. Then, all at once, she dropped the bag and started to cry into her hands as if the world was about to end, her body shaking with sobs. Without thinking, I stepped forward and gingerly wrapped my arms around her, letting Lauren cry into my front. I could feel her shoulder blades and ribs jutting out strongly, even through her clothes. She was unbelievably tiny, not at all healthy. I resisted the urge to tighten my grip protectively; I didn't know how Lauren would react.

"Hey, its ok, Lauren." I worked to reassure her after the four thirty bus rumbled past. Josh was done by now, and I needed to leave; but I wasn't about to leave Lauren on the street like this. "Just come with me, we'll go get Josh, and then you can come over for awhile and get everything off your chest, alright?" I offered, begging to an unknown God that she'd accept, and after a second, Lauren stepped away with a jerky nod, using the sleeve of her giant coat to mop more mud and tears off her face. "You'll have to ride piggy-back," I said, bending my knees slightly. Lauren laughed shakily but jumped up anyway. Within four minutes we were in the long hallway under the hospital, full of old school shock treatment rooms. Josh's room was on the end.

"Where are we, exactly?" Lauren asked, running her fingers over the rough stone walls, looking slightly nervous to be so enclosed. I assumed that she'd never really been in a stable environment, or she hadn't been in a long time. That fact saddened me for some odd reason.

"Under the hospital. It makes his change easier and safer than in the woods." I answered, walking up to the door and turning the ancient rusty handle to let Josh out.

"You cannot make a habit out of being—late." Josh started to reprimand, shouldering his overnight bag but then grinding to a halt, seeing Lauren standing behind me. "Hey! Um, hi," he greeted her, shifting his bag and looking at me in disbelief, a goofy smile spreading across his face. He'd been so worried and protective, almost like she was Emily, and it was almost comical to see him so excited now.

"Take her home. I'll see you after my shift." I said authoritatively, patting Lauren gingerly on her unhurt shoulder. Hopefully Josh would be somewhat normal and calm and get Lauren to open up; she seriously needed some therapy and love. When I raised my eyebrows at Josh, he snapped into action, swallowing his anxious nerves.

Lauren POV

"Well, um, let's go then," Josh said after a second, and we started walking. The entire way home, even on the bus, I was silent, staring mutely at the space across from me. I didn't want to do this, I didn't want to admit to all the terrible things I'd done. I was so afraid that I was going to hurt someone else, someone innocent, like these two nice men. I got weird looks considering my face was still streaked with mud, and fine clear lines showed where I'd been crying. I couldn't believe that Josh had changed last night; he moved so easily, whereas I was still really stiff and sore. We arrived on a rougher side of town, and the house looked like it needed some love. Josh suddenly got nervous, ranting and dropping his keys a few times. "Well, here we are, um, we also have a ghost living here, Sally is her name-"

"What?" I asked, and it came out like a croak. Suddenly, a woman _appeared_ out of _thin air_ on the stairs, looking at me curiously. "Jesus fucking Christ," I croaked again, putting a hand over my heart. Now wasn't exactly the most ideal time for me to have learn that ghosts actually existed; although, I really shouldn't have been surprised. The woman hadn't taken her eyes off me, something that really didn't help the creepy factor.

"Um, Sally, this is Lauren, Lauren, Sally. Here, come in, sit down, that's it," Josh hurriedly ushered me into a very plain and shabby living room, and I slowly sat on the couch, hiding my face behind my hand. I hadn't been in an actual house for about six odd years, and it only reminded me even more of what I'd done. "Um, Sally? Can we have a moment?" Josh asked sheepishly, and the ghost vanished. "Do you…need anything? Water? Food?" Josh asked, slowly sitting next to me on the couch, as if he was expecting me to attack him. His offer hurt even more; he was treating me like a human being. That had to stop.

"No, you have to know what you're dealing with." I said after taking a deep breath and dropping my hand. "I'm only going to tell this once, and then you'll know why I deserve to be alone." I said in a hard, clear voice, fixing my gaze on the coffee table rather than Josh, who opened his mouth and closed it again, unsure of what to say.

"When I was ten I got abducted and dumped in the woods. I used to live in Pennsylvania, and the woods in that state are huge. I escaped and ran without any idea of where I was going. While I was wandering, trying to find my way out, I ran into a werewolf. The only reason I didn't die is because the police found me before I bled to death. Everything went back to normal, I went home, healed up, whatever. But _I _knew that I wasn't right inside." My voice cracked, no matter how hard I tried to keep it steady. I'd never told anyone this, not ever. I closed my eyes, unable to even risk looking up and seeing Josh's face. "T-two weeks later, it was the night of the full moon. By then, even my parents knew that something was wrong. 'All we want to do is help,' they said, 'Just tell us what's wrong, Lauren!' And then I turned, in our house, and—and I killed them. M-my whole family; My _mom, _and my _dad, _my brother and even our _dog._" Unable to take it any more, I buried my face in my hands and cried, and each separate memory was like a new kind of torture. I could remember the whole change, and how I'd woken up the next morning _covered_ in blood and guts. I hadn't understood what had happened at first until I realized that the mangled bodies in our house were my family, and the blood on my teeth, face, body and under my nails belonged to them. For a moment, Josh only sat there before he scooted a bit closer and carefully gave me a hug. I didn't have the heart to shove him away, so I forced out the end of my story, wanting to get it all over with. "In the morning, I ran away and never looked back. I wandered up the coast until, lo and behold, I ended up here in Boston. And- some-sometimes, I feel wild just during the day, weeks away from a transformation! I can't control m-myself at all! So don't you see now, why I'm better off alone?" I pulled away as I reached my main point and stood up, turning away from that oddly protective look on his face.

"I'm sorry," was the first thing Josh said quietly, and I choked out a hoarse and bitter laugh, angrily wiping away tears. I mean, fuck, why the hell was I crying? It wouldn't help anything. I suddenly felt incredibly stupid; I was standing in a living room barefoot with a huge trench coat on, sobbing my life story to this guy, someone I didn't even know. This had been a terrible idea- why did I even agree to this in the first place?

"Not as much as I am, Josh, not as much as I. You don't want to live with a murderer." I promised him, but he shook his head, standing up too. I didn't turn around to look at him- I couldn't. I had to man up and lock away emotion before I could turn around and tell him to leave me the hell alone.

"I already do live with a murderer. Aidan wasn't always perfect. And I've killed lots of little bunnies and-"

"_Aidan didn't kill his whole family!_ I'm a disgusting excuse for even a monster! I deserve the life I'm living, and you shouldn't try to change that." I almost shouted over him, whirling around and snatched up my bag and quickly wiped at my nose. It'd been a mistake coming here, I hadn't scared him away at all by admitting to being a murderer. "Ok, I told you, I 'got it off my chest', and n-now I'm done." I started for the door, but Josh leapt to his feet and over the couch, cutting me off.

"Just, stay, ok? Please? I've done terrible things too, alright? People like us; we've all got it rough. Aidan's been dead for 200 years, Sally was murdered, I-" Josh gulped, "I had to leave my fiancée and my whole life; everyone's hurting. Please stay, just for awhile. You and I both know that once you're a wolf you can't control yourself and that you didn't kill your family on purpose." I looked at him then quickly away when his Bambi eyes looked right through me. He didn't even know how wild I was, but I didn't want him to get hurt when he finally found out. It would be selfish to stay yet it would hurt him to go.

"You had to leave your fiancée?" I asked softly, letting my bag drop to the floor, hoping to distract him and myself by talking about something else.

"Uh, yes. I loved her, but," Josh cleared his throat and also looked at the floor, "I'm a monster, just like you. I couldn't hurt anyone, so I left." Not knowing what to say, we both looked at the floor for awhile. I was itching to go, but I was already resigned to the fact that I'd probably stay.

"What's it like, when you change? Is it fast or slow?" I asked suddenly, looking up and for once making direct eye contact. I wanted to see the whole ugly truth from him.

"Mine takes about five minutes from start to finish." Josh said with a shrug, sticking his hands in his pockets. "How long is yours then?" He asked, and I grimaced, not wanting to answer.

"Thirty seconds to a minute." I mumbled, and Josh flinched.

"How do you not explode?" Josh asked stupidly, almost without realizing it. I laughed weakly, leaning against the wall to take some weight off of my hip. I could feel his eyes on me; he was staring at me with such intensity that I finally gave in. _Fucking Bambi eyes._

"Look, I- I'm going to- I'll give it a go, staying with you guys. I'll try." I said after a minute of slightly uncomfortable silence as Josh stared at me. "But I'm telling you now, I'm wild." I warned seriously, looking back up, but Josh just grinned as if it was goddamn Christmas.

"Ok, um, cool! Well, uh, you probably want to shower, and I'll find you some ibuprofen or something for the pain and stiffness, uh, yeah! Bathroom is the first door on your right from the top of the stairs." He directed, and I just nodded, feeling miserable for staying, and took my bag and limped up the stairs. Their shower was also barren and plain, but it was a _shower._ It wasn't like the weird child safe shower that I'd used at the hospital, either. This was an honest to goodness _shower. _Unused to the luxury of hot water, I showered cold, like the rain. Even over the pounding water, I could clearly hear the conversation downstairs between Josh and Sally the ghost. I didn't know what it was, but my hearing was freaky good. I could hear shit from _blocks _away.

"So, _that's_ the girl, huh?" Sally asked. "You guys were right, she does look…broken." I bristled at that comment; did I _look_ weak to them?

"I know," Josh replied, his footsteps moving across a room downstairs. "And I'm no psychiatrist, but she's a million times worse than I was." All the anger drained out of me as he said that, and I leaned against the shower wall, feeling more like shit than ever. I was fucking with his mind, and I hated that. He was already feeling obligated to help me- and that was the absolute _last _thing I wanted. He'd soon realize how impossible I was to keep in control and when he did there'd be hell to pay. Figuring I shouldn't waste water, I scrubbed myself clean, even when it hurt. I grudgingly put on more of the clothes Aidan had just randomly bought for me (who the hell _does_ that?) and wrapped my hair up in a towel, turban style. Not even bothering to put on the socks, I resisted the urge to put on the coat and limped back down into their kitchen, which was equally as unadorned as the rest of the house. Josh was fidgeting nervously at the kitchen table, but, bless him, he had a bottle of ibuprofen.

"For having to use guy soap, that was the best shower I think I've ever had," I sighed, sinking down onto a chair with a wince, trying to ignore how the ghost kept _watching _me, as if I was a fascinating exhibit in a museum or something.

"Magic in a bottle?" Josh offered, pushing the ibuprofen towards me. His eyes widened as I swallowed seven dry all at once without any hesitation then cricked my neck with a sigh. A werewolf transformation made you sore in bones and muscles you didn't think could _get _sore. It sucked major balls.

"Haven't you noticed that we go through this shit like crazy?" I asked, seeing his expression, trying not to raise my eyebrows and swear, remembering faintly that guests in other people's homes were supposed to be polite.

"Well, I usually take seven during a _day_, not all at once." Josh said, and I shrugged, taking the bottle cap and spinning it on the table. "So what do you do after a transformation when you can't get ibuprofen or anything?" Josh asked, a strange yet curious look on his face, almost like he didn't want to hear my answer.

"Whatever dulls the pain. Booze. Marijuana. I've done crack before." I confessed, replacing the cap on the bottle and pushing it into the middle of the table. "It seems like I can't get addicted to anything, so the amount really doesn't matter."

"How old were you when you did cocaine?" Josh nearly squeaked, clearly horrified that I'd taken hardcore drugs.

"That was two years ago, just inside the Connecticut border. New York was too dangerous for me so I stayed in some of the brothels and slums across the state line. They weren't as busy as the big city but had just as much drugs." I answered dispassionately, running my short and stubby fingernail against the grain of the wooden table.

"Where'd you live in Pennsylvania?" Josh asked when he found his voice again, but I just shook my head, even when he pressed me on it. I couldn't have him looking up who I'd been. "Can I get a last name?" Josh asked, giving up on his initial question, but I just shook my head again, digging deeper into the wood. We moved into the living room so I could stretch out on a couch by Josh's request; he could easily see and understand how frickin' _sore _I was. Unfortunately, when I stretched out on the couch, it became really apparent how underfed I was. My ribs pushed at my shirt, and he could see my hipbones poking at my jeans. His expression made me wish I had my trench, so I could cover up. It felt so weird to be dressed normally. Usually I scavenged or stole clothes that I needed, and I tended to grab clothes that were durable, covering, and inconspicuous.

Slowly, we made conversation about transformations, and he thought long and hard about why mine always hurt more and had more lasting effects than his. It was really great that he was trying so hard, but I knew that it would only make things harder once I finally grew a pair and left Boston. As we talked, the stress and pain from the night before started to make me sleepy, and, despite my better judgment (something I'd been ignoring a lot lately) I fell asleep on his couch, exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally.


	5. Chapter 5

When I finally woke up, the room was darker, but a few lamps were on. Someone had covered me with a blanket, and Aidan was watching the TV with almost no volume, letting his vampire hearing do the work for him. "Bitch tits," I groaned as I pushed myself up, my joints making quiet cracking sounds, disoriented. For a moment, I didn't recognize where I was in the dimmer light of their living room. There were weird shadows in places that I wasn't used to seeing shadows in. Instantly, my wolf alert kicked in, telling me urgently to check for danger.

"Take it easy," Aidan said lightly as I struggled to my feet then swore heavily and creatively as my hip popped out of its socket. With a grimace, I popped it back, ignoring the look on Aidan's face. For me, it was absolutely normal- ever since I'd broken it a few times it didn't quite work right. After taking a quick look around, I relaxed, letting out a slow breath. For a second, I'd forgotten where I was, unused to sleeping on something so comfy. It was also to ignore my wolf when it was that alert to possible danger. With a sigh, I gingerly sat back down on the edge of the couch, stretching my left leg out slowly so that my hip rolled properly, making sure that the joint was firmly in the socket. "How did you hurt your hip and get that limp?" Aidan asked, evidently still surprised that I'd just casually popped my hip back in its socket. He was still looking at me as if I'd grown a second head or something.

"It's not a nice story," I insisted, but he gave me a 'bitch please' kind of look and turned off the TV. "Fine, I first broke the bone when I jumped off a cliff. It never healed right. Then I hurt it real bad when I got into a fight with a vampire. It's never been the same since." I shrugged as I said it, but Aidan leaned forward.

"Well, what happened?" He asked, clearly picturing the worst. I rolled my eyes. It obviously wasn't that bad- I was still _alive,_ wasn't I?

"Yes, please share," Sally said, appearing next to Aidan, looking enthralled, as if she was going to live vicariously through my story. I had to work really hard to not turn on her and start swearing. I had to accept and remind myself that she was just curious. The annoying part would hopefully go away soon.

"Ok, so we were on the roof of a seven story building, right?" I started, remembering the scene clearly. It had been at about two in the morning, in pea soup fog, three days before a full moon. "I was planning on throwing myself off of it-"

"_What?"_ Aidan nearly growled, his hand clenching into a fist.

"Wait, and when you said you jumped off a cliff—and now this—oh, _no_, no way!" Sally raised her voice, standing up. "You do _not_ get to commit suicide!" She looked pissed, and she probably compared myself to her situation. Whatever, if she was in my shoes, she'd want it to end as fast as possible.

"Look, if you were me, you'd probably do the exact same thing." I said gruffly, and Aidan raised a hand as Sally opened her mouth furiously, ready to get into a full fledged fight.

"Back to the rooftop, but this suicide business is not off limits for discussion." He said firmly, acting between mediator between Sally and I. The only thing that made me continue was the way he sounded like Doctor Phil for fuck's sake. It was kind of funny to think that he was trying to care so much.

"A vamp followed me up onto the roof, trying to fuck with me. It was only a few days before the full moon so I gave him a good fight- I even ripped out a chunk of his arm and got a few fingers. He won though, by taking me by the leg and chucking me off the building. His throw alone fractured my pelvis on the left side." I explained dully, then turned quickly when I heard someone move behind me. Josh was standing there, holding a bag of take out food with a horrified look on his face. For a second, I almost blushed. Being in a house was lowering my guard; I didn't even smell him or the food. I wondered how long he'd been there…

"What…are we talking about?" He asked weakly, looking wildly confused, glancing between Aidan, Sally, and myself.

"Her hip-" Aidan started to explain, but Sally immediately launched into a long rant about how I'd tried to commit suicide and all of the grimy little details. Every time Aidan or I tried to interrupt, she just talked louder. Either she was really bored and had nothing else to do or she was still seriously pissed that I'd tried to kill myself, something I didn't understand. Why would she care?

"Ok, ok!" I yelled finally as Sally started to gesture in midair. Josh had figured it out at this point and his eyes had this _look_ to them, which basically meant that now he cared too. Perfect, just _fucking _perfect. Sally, the ghost who cared way too much for no reason had just dragged another poor soul into my fucked up life. "It's not as bad as she's…explaining. I mean-"

"Lauren, it's upsetting to hear that you've tried things like that." Aidan said firmly, and I opened my mouth to tell him to shut the fuck up and let me finish, but Josh interrupted.

"Let's…just eat." Josh interjected quickly, seeing my frustrated expression. He quickly moved around the couch and knelt at the coffee table, opening the take out bag. "I wasn't, um, sure what you wanted, so-well-here," he almost ripped the bag taking out the traditional cheeseburger and fries. I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows as he nearly started panting; he was _that_ awkward.

"Are you ok?" I asked him as he sat back, dabbing at his forehead. He looked like he was coming down off of a high. I reached forward to take a fry when Aidan suddenly grabbed my arm by the elbow, eyebrows knitting together in apparent anger. Of course, my wolf took it the wrong way and freaked. "What the fuck-" I yelped, then cut myself off as he scrutinized the track marks in the crook of my arm from drugs. He'd only seen my good arm at the hospital. I only shot into one arm to keep things tidy. In the crook of my right elbow were dozens of the faded dark pinpricks from shooting up. After a second, I jerked out of his hold, bending my arm so that the track marks disappeared from view. "If this is you guys pretending to be normal, you suck at it." I sighed, and Sally started laughing.

"So, what's with all this suicide nonsense?" Josh tried to ask casually after he insisted that we started eating again.

"Is this your idea of small talk?" I asked incredulously, swirling a french fry in ketchup. Aidan started laughing but hastily turned it into a cough as Josh glared at him. "My hip popped out and I just popped it back in, like always, but then Aidan wanted to know how I hurt it and-well…it just happened." I explained lamely, totally out of my element for once. I felt stupid being dressed so cleanly and eating around a table with other people. On top of that, I'd never talked about my life with _anyone. _

"And how _did_ it happen?" Josh asked curiously. With a sigh, I explained it all again and answered all their questions. By the time I was done clarifying each attempt (there were only three total, but these guys wanted every goddamn fact) Aidan leapt back in and asked about the track marks.

"How often do you do drugs?" He asked, his dark eyes almost harder to meet than Josh's big brown ones. I couldn't believe how easily these guys totally sat me on my ass and made me spill my secrets like a baby.

"As often as I have to," I said honestly, sitting back from the coffee table. Josh had ordered me a _huge_ cheeseburger, and all I could stomach was the fries. I wasn't used to eating that much food at once- if at all. A good meal was always hard to come by. Usually I just got high to forget the fact that I was hungry. It made coming down from the high even worse, but then you'd just take another hit. "I don't know why, but my transformations hurt a lot more than Josh's do, more than any other werewolf I've ever met; they just happen so fast. And, you know, sometimes-I've got a lot to forget, even for a little while." As soon as I said it, I nearly groaned. Now I sounded like a flowery little poet. "But, seriously, I can't get addicted to anything. I've tried, to be honest, but it runs through me like water."

"That reminds me, you probably want some more ibuprofen," Josh leapt to his feet and headed for the kitchen to get the bottle.

"Are you done already?" Aidan asked, narrowing his eyes at all the food I had left over. He reminded me of a father figure, whereas Josh was the annoying yet super bright and sweet little/big bro, and Sally was the ever supportive sister. Aidan's gaze fell on me, and again I wished I could cover up. I had muscle, that was true, but when I wasn't covered by my big, baggy clothes, all of my bones stood out. The sight of them grossed even me out.

"I'm not hungry," I said, just as Josh came back.

"Well, you should be! Jeez, I can usually eat your meal and mine all in one sitting!" Josh exclaimed, handing me the ibuprofen bottle. I just shrugged and poured eight or so tablets on the coffee table and took them all dry.

Over the next few days, everyone seemed to relax a little. Aidan stopped thinking of me as a druggie, Josh got a little less awkward, and I learned that Sally shaking the house was totally normal. I had to hand it to these guys; they were really trying (and were pretty good at it) this whole 'being human' thing. Aidan gave me a ride back to my forest so I could collect all of my possessions from the top of the Alpine spruce, which included clean clothes, money, two more knives, my leftover stash of weed (which Aidan made me ditch immediately), feminine products, an emergency bottle of water and Scruffy, my ancient stuffed dog that I'd taken with me when I'd run away. When both guys were at the hospital working I hung out with Sally, something that I could tell brightened her mood. She told me all about Danny, her fiancé, and how he'd pushed her down a flight of stairs. To her (and everyone else in the houses') disappointment, I still dodged personal questions as much as possible, trying to avoid another fiasco like the other night and the suicide tales. Since I was forbidden to leave the house, by order of Aidan, I was bored enough to start cleaning. Josh did a pretty good job, and Aidan was spotless, being a vampire and all, but they were both bachelors. Both sucked at keeping house. So I found myself standing in their kitchen like a goddamn housewife, scrubbing and sanitizing. I couldn't let my usual fear of germ-o-phobia get to me on the streets, but it came roaring back once I was in a house. I spent about half a day cleaning all the shit out of their fridge (sparking an odd conversation about rump-roasts), which was fucking _disgusting._

With effort, I started to cut down on some of my more terrible habits, like spitting and swearing excessively. I limited my pain medications to a legal standpoint and in 'safe' dosages, even though about a week after the full moon I was always back to normal. Even though I started to fit in with this odd, motley group I found myself in, a little part of me in the back of my mind warned me about the wilder, crazier side of me that would come out every month without fail. It was embarrassing to talk about, hell, it was a bitch to even think about, but I had to come out and face it. It totally fulfilled the bitch stereotype, but it's not like I could stop myself. Whenever I got my period, I went nuts. Usually, I just dealt with it with some sort of drug, but now I lived in a 'family' setting, I couldn't just go apeshit on someone because I felt like it.

As my 'second time o' the month' got closer and closer, I became more uptight and nervous. Sally, acting as spy for Bambi and Aidan, relayed information on me to them every day (I'd neglected to share that my hearing was probably as good as Aidan's). They noticed that my appetite, which had been starting to come back, waned off again. The funny part was that Sally, a girl, didn't even _remember_ what a bitch having a menstrual cycle was. She and her super over active imagination thought that I was thinking on bailing on them or that I was harboring some deep and dark secret. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. I was sitting cross-legged on the couch, a bowl of steamy onion soup lying untouched in my lap, staring blankly at the TV when she pounced. Josh was attacking the rest of the soup with gusto, and Aidan was staring out a window, probably bored out of his mind when she struck.

"Ok, that is _it._ You have to share what's bugging you right now, or my head is going to explode." Sally demanded, sitting cross-legged on the coffee table right in front of me, breaking my trance. Josh looked up from his bowl, and Aidan slowly turned around, leaning against the window frame. I considered lying, or putting her off, hell, I even considered swearing at her. But I couldn't lie to them about this for much longer; Aidan was a _vampire. _Werewolf blood smelt like warm cat piss mixed with vinegar to him, but that was kind of the point; he'd smell it instantly. I felt my whole face flush up, a bright tomato red. I laughed weakly, seeing the guys exchange looks; I'd never blushed in front of them _ever._

"I'm—I—I', ok?" I said super fast, and only Aidan caught it. The look on his face would have been funny if this wasn't so serious.

"What? _What?"_ Sally demanded, leaping to her feet, seeing the mildly disgusted look on Aidan's face.

"I'm a _girl_, Sally." I stressed hard, but she just looked at me, nonplussed, while Josh looked so confused it wasn't even funny. "I'm worried about my period." I sighed, feeling my face start to flush again, so I quickly looked down at my soup. Josh choked and upended his soup all over his lap. "And, well, you guys should know that…the wolf gets harder to control when I'm all bitchy and bleeding and shit, all right?" I informed my soup, and Aidan twitched in apparent distress.

"Oh," Sally said stupidly. "Do you need the guys to get you products?"

"_I will __**never**__ make a tampon run._" Aidan said firmly, as if he was handing out a death sentence. Josh choked again at the word 'tampon' and upended his soup bowl again.

"_Fuck, _this is so embarrassing," I groaned, putting my soup bowl on the table and running a quick hand through my hair, looking at the ceiling, and then taking a deep breath.

"Code word," Sally piped up. "Let's just make up a code word you can say every month so that we can avoid talking about your menstrual cycle like this again-" As she said the words 'menstrual cycle', Josh almost kneed himself in the face as his whole body twitched. "Jesus, Josh, you went to _medical school!_" Sally said as Josh started to frantically mop at his pants (they were seriously starting to reek with onion) and Aidan stiffened further, looking decisively at one spot on the floor, clearly uncomfortable.

"How about I get the liberty to leave this goddamn house and go to the nearest supermarket and buy it myself?" I suggested, but Aidan shook his head.

"I…I'll take you," he sighed. "But I'm waiting right out front, I'm _not_ going in."

"Wow, you'd sacrifice your dignity just so that you can watch me wherever I go?" I heard myself ask bitterly, barely even realizing that I was doing it. "_Shit!"_ I swore under my breath after there was a second of stunned silence. "I'm sorry, Aidan, I didn't mean that," I apologized hastily, my fingers starting to nervously drum against my calf. "It's just so…confined in your house."

"It's alright," Aidan said quickly. "We all know that this is…new for you, we get that."

"Fuck, this is going to be a long week," I groaned, rubbing my temples. When this started, shit was going to go down; I wasn't going to be able to watch my mouth or my attitude around these guys. Even worse, I wasn't going to be able to stop any wolfy urges I had either. There was a very strong possibility that they would finally get to see just how wild I truly was.

"Oh, so that's how long it is?" Josh asked, then flushed even hotter then I did when I looked up in disbelief. I didn't know the name of every part in a penis but I frickin' _knew _what it was! Josh was acting like he'd never heard of a woman before.

"Wait, does that mean you have it now?" Sally asked, rounding on me.

"She doesn't have it," Aidan said instantly, and then barely flushed, our signal that if he was human, he'd be about as red as Josh.

"_Wow._" I said loudly, starting to chuckle. "Let's just…stop talking about this, ok? Please. I'm sorry I even brought it up."

"But-what about-you still need a codeword." Josh forced out, rubbing his neck awkwardly and glancing at his soaked pants, looking as if he wanted the couch to swallow him up.

"Bluebird," I sighed, standing up and collecting the soup bowls. "Now, we are _done._ Seriously." I ordered, and headed for the kitchen.

"What just happened?" I heard Josh ask meekly, and I nearly died from laughter, holding onto the sink (squeaky clean thanks to _moi_) for support. He was as clueless as ever.

"Skipping over that, can you bring me a blood packet?" Aidan called, and I thanked him mentally for starting a new topic of conversation. It hadn't gone over quite as well as I'd wanted it to, mostly because my two guardians were guys- guys who were clearly awkward with that sort of thing. I hoped that we'd never have to go into more detail- I might just die from embarrassment. I mean, they were talking about myvagina as if it was the apocalypse.

"Yes, dear," I called back, and threw it to him from the doorway of the kitchen, then went back to cleaning up the remnants of my soup. I'd learned to cook from this psycho cat lady on the street. Yeah, I'd actually used real meat in my soup where as she had taught me with a roadkill cat, but hey, you can't always get quality.

"Well, the soup _looked_ good." Sally said, appearing next to me.

"I'm surprised you saw any of it, Josh is like a vacuum cleaner," I said, squatting to find some dish soap. I'd been wary to clean under the sink because of Sally's tendencies to fuck with the plumbing, but I finally conquered it with bleach a few days ago.

"It was good, but in my defense, I was hungry," Josh called, sounding like he was over his stint of embarrassment that had left him incapable of speech. Laughing, I took the soap and stood up. The quick movement suddenly brought the harsh, dull ache of pain in my lower abdomen that made me gasp loudly and drop the soap into the sink with a _bang_. It always happened just like that, but I was never _ever_ ready for it.

"Bluebird," Aidan said in the living room, sounding absolutely mortified.


	6. Chapter 6

_I was in hell_.

Since Aidan wouldn't let me fucking take anything else for pain but ibuprofen, I'd morphed into a total bitch in a world of hurt. I was on my back on the couch, half curled in on myself, jaw clenched. The bottle of ibuprofen was next to me, and Sally was sitting worriedly across from me. The funny part was that the pain I had now was just from keeping the inner wolf from taking control. Once I actually got cramps, I was totally fucked. "Ugh, _fuck, fuck, __**FUCK!**_" I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut as the inner wolf freaked out again. It seemed like every ten or so minutes it freaked out, not used to my surroundings. The wolf could smell everything in a two block radius, and that scared it. Things had never been this bad in the woods, or someplace I really felt safe, but I still wasn't used to the house. It was exhausting, staying in control of your own mind and body, and it _hurt. _

"Do you want me to call the hospital?" Sally asked quietly as I curled into a tight little ball.

"And tell them what, Sally, _what?"_ I snarled, then apologized softly. It was near impossible to keep my temper in check when all I wanted to do was scream.

"You need to be on Vicodin or Oxcycodone or something. Josh and Aidan could easily get that from the hospital." Sally said, sounding like she was trying to stay calm.

"Don't freak, but I don't think those two combined would do the trick," I panted, pressing my forehead to my knees. "Shit like that is like water to me."

"Can I do _anything_ to help?" Sally asked after another half and hour of me groaning, moaning and swearing.

"Just go away," I whimpered, praying to every god out there that I didn't get actual period cramps but mostly for a vodka rainstorm so that I could go out in it and get wasted, anything to relieve the pain. I spent the rest of the day being a pathetic ball of pain on the couch, only getting up to change tampons. The door opened quietly when Josh and Aidan came home, and I didn't even move from my tightly curled up ball to greet them.

"You guys are assholes." Sally yelled from upstairs, and the house gave a little shake. It really pissed her off to see me in pain, something that surprised me. Sally had accepted my presence instantly and cared for me like she would a sister. I wasn't used to having family.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked, and I heard him come over to where I was panting, eyes squeezed shut. "Does it hurt that bad?" He asked anxiously, and I cracked an eye open. His face was fuzzy. "Holy moly!" He said, as he picked up the ibuprofen bottle to find it empty.

"It smells so bad in here," I heard Aidan mutter.

"Then get rid of the trash yourself!" Sally yelled from upstairs, and the house rattled again. If I wasn't paralyzed from pain, I would've given Sally a high-five. As Josh turned back to me, my wolf got a hint of his wolf and _freaked_. Unable to stop the strangled yell of pain that escaped me, I curled inward on myself again, eyes squeezing shut. The wolf roared up, expecting a fight. I beat it back down with all my strength, trying to stay human.

"What hurt, what hurts?" Josh asked frantically, petting my head, the only part of me he could reach.

"She's been like this all day." Sally said pointedly, appearing on the stairs, giving Aidan a look.

"I'll go get her something," Aidan mumbled, getting up and leaving hastily, trying to get away from the apparent stench.

"R-remember what I said about my wolf and hormones?" I said through gritted teeth to answer Josh's question. My wolf was starting to settle down now that it'd had established that Josh wasn't a threat. For the rest of the night, Josh was antsy, ridiculing Aidan or Sally for doing something or being too noisy while I stayed on their couch in a sniveling little ball, willing my head not to explode. He only went to bed when I called him a 'pansy motherfucker' for being 'the goddamn nurse I didn't fucking need'. I didn't know if he was over it in the morning, because I slept for a remarkably long time, until noon or so. Aidan had gotten me some Vicodin from a local oral surgeon's supplies, but it wasn't doing much for me.

"You do this for a whole week?" Sally asked a little glumly after I'd limped out of the bathroom.

"Tell me about it," I chuckled weakly, slowly easing back onto the couch. "It's like two transformations a month." That wasn't totally a lie. I felt like morphing all the time when I had my period, something I didn't even understand. It'd baffled Josh- he felt as normal as he could get every other day of the month. This was the time of the month that made me dangerous, not my transformation under the full moon. My normal one was always predictable. When I had my period, anything could happen.

"Have you ever met another female werewolf?" Sally asked, and I shook my head, now stretching out at a snails pace, trying not to disrupt the inner wolf. She was a total bitch, my inner wolf, and I swear to god it was her mission in life to cause me pain. She was rough, and open with however she felt whereas I was asocial and liked order.

"I wish. It seems like I'm the only one, at least, the only one on the east coast." I said softly, closing my eyes and trying to keep the wolf happy. She was bitching about something, I just didn't know what. It was annoying, having that constant buzz in the back of your head, and my wolf was no exception.

"Oh my gosh, can you imagine like a dating site for werewolves? 'Single werewolf-ista, 23, looking for another lyco to meet under the moon.' That'd be awesome! Especially for Josh." Sally exclaimed, and I laughed. _Big mistake. _My laughter jerked the wolf around and pissed her off, making her stir and start to rise up uncontrollably. I sucked in a fast breath as my wolf roared higher and higher, past where I could control. "You ok?" Sally asked, but it was like she'd asked from upstairs. The same harsh tingling as a transformation shot down my spine, making me jack-knife to a sitting position, eyes widening and heart pounding. There was nothing I could do now- she'd gotten too far. "Lauren?" Sally asked, sounding scared. Hearing my breath come faster and rougher, I bolted to my feet. The tingling came again and my whole body jerked with it. _Not here, please, not here!_

"Stay out of the bathroom," I croaked, starting to stumble for it. I couldn't take any chances; if I could just lock myself in and change in there, it'd be safer than changing in their living room. Halfway there, I let out that feral yet agonized growl, almost falling to my knees as I tried to hold myself together. I was shaking from the effort of not changing right in front of Sally.

"_Lauren!__"_ Sally asked, the noise high-pitched with hysteria.

"Just stay—out-of the-" I yelled, almost falling headfirst onto the doorframe of the bathroom and letting out another feral groan, body vibrating. With shaking hands, I turned and slammed the door, turning the lock. As it clicked, all of my resistance seemed to fall away, and the pain roared forward. Screaming with the usual pain, I fell to my knees then started to writhe as bones rearranged...

Josh POV

As Aidan and I walked down the sidewalk towards the house, stuck in a fierce debate over letting Lauren take something more serious for her pain, I noticed Sally standing anxiously on the front steps, pacing. Aidan followed my gaze and we both shut up, quickening our pace. "Thank God, g-guys, Lauren—there's a werewolf in the bathroom." Sally spit out all at once, actually looking as white as a ghost.

"Sally, that's impossible." Aidan said while I just stood there open mouthed. _WHAT?_

"Ok, go open the door Aidan and see for yourself. I'm telling you, she started getting cramps and then she was _howling, _and she lockedherselfinthebathroomand-"

"Slow down, Sally, slow down," I babbled nervously, and she sucked in a huge breath.

"You can hear a wolf in there. I don't know how she hasn't busted out and wreaked havoc, but you can hear her. In the bathroom. As a wolf." Sally said hysterically.

"Okay, Josh, stay out here, ok? Sally, come with me." Aidan said after a moment for a deep breath, and I peeked through our front window as Aidan cautiously advanced, Sally following him through the couch. Aidan, being a vampire, was silent, but when Lauren got a whiff of him- there'd be hell to pay. He inched right up to the door and put his ear to it. Then he said something to Sally, who disappeared, only to reappear at my side.

"Aidan's fairly confident that you can go inside. Apparently, Lauren's really docile as a wolf." Sally said calmly, even though her eyes were still bugging out of her head.

"Right," I said after taking a deep breath, and I carefully slipped into the house, closing the door.

"Have you ever heard of this happening?" Aidan asked quietly after he'd motioned me down the hallway, past the bathroom, into the kitchen.

"Never. Never _ever._" I whispered, freaking out. Werewolves only turned once. _Once._ How this was happening, I had no idea. I could barely even stand to think about my transformation, never mind keep tabs on the inner wolf for the rest of the month. The three of us sat nervously around the table, Aidan occasionally twitching when he heard something. Finally, at about eight at night, the door opened and Lauren's hunched figure limped out, wrapped in a towel. Without a word, she went upstairs and returned a few minutes later, dressed. She slumped down at the table, cradling her head. "What happened?" I half squeaked.

"I lost control. Puberty's a bitch," she croaked, starting to slowly rub her temples. Her face looked sunken, her hair limp.

"Has this ever happened before?" Aidan asked, and she nodded miserably, looking up, eyes burning with sadness.

"A lot when, you know, girls first get it. But I'd been getting better. Everything here is just so…different." She admitted, hiding her face again. I barely stopped myself from giving her a big hug. I couldn't imagine how scary that must have been, knowing you were changing and having to quickly find a spot to do it in.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Aidan asked, and she laughed shakily yet bitterly, getting up with a wince. Her face had already smoothed over- and she looked like she had been back out on the streets again. "Lauren, this isn't your fault." He added, standing up too.

"You're lucky I didn't destroy your bathroom, escape, kill people, kill _you…_I've got to get out of here." Lauren insisted, but I stood up too, and Sally disappeared to appear next to her, face stormy.

"You're not going anywhere, not after what just happened. Here," I insisted, handing her the bottle of Vicodin. She took it wearily and poured out a pile on the table, and proceeded to take them, about twelve in all.

"Then I have to start taking something stronger. It's only for one week once a month. I know that you guys want me to be normal, I get that, but _I_ need something more." Lauren said painfully, looking at the floor. I threw a look at Aidan, and we had a mini stare down. Finally, he looked away, letting me know that I'd succeeded.

"You can start with marijuana or alcohol. No herion, and no crack." Aidan laid down his ultimatum. Lauren got up with a wince, limped to the phone and got some paper and a pencil, then limped back and started writing.

"What-" I started to ask, but Lauren cut me off.

"This is a list of all the dealers I've gone to, and where you can find them. I'm going to need a lot, and as soon as possible." Lauren said, pushing the paper to Aidan with a wince. "And now, I'm going to bed." She said wearily, limping slowly out of the room without another word.

Lauren POV

The next morning, a rather large bag of weed was on top of the fridge. Aidan left a note on it telling me to pace myself, something I ignored. After eating a tiny breakfast for Sally, I set up a station at the kitchen table. In my assembly line was the weed, plain paper (I'd never been able to afford the good stuff) and a lighter. Sally sat curiously across from me, wanting to see what it was like. She watched me lay the cannabis in an even layer on the paper and roll it tightly, doing it again and again. "Finally," I sighed once I'd made about ten joints.

"You're going to smoke it _now?"_ Sally asked eagerly as I clenched a joint in my teeth and lit up. Ignoring her question for the moment, I took in a huge, deep breath and held it, eyes closing as I started to relax. I held my breath for as long as I could before letting out the smoke, adding some haze to the kitchen.

"Of course I am," I said lowly, taking another huge hit. After three hours and two more joints (Aidan had bought some _good_ weed), I took one with me to the living room after drawing the curtains. I didn't want to get arrested for possession; I'd gotten close to doing so before. Then I went back to my couch, as always, and actually fell asleep.

I woke up to the sound of giggling. Sitting up, feeling somewhat normal, I saw that Josh was sitting in a corner, knees to his chest, giggling to himself. A slight haze still hung in the air, which surprised me, I'd smoked early in the morning, and it was dark out now. "Congratulations, Lauren, you've turned Josh into a pot head!" Sally said enthusiastically in greeting, coming into the room.

"He actually smoked some? But the joints I made were _huge._" I said in disbelief, getting up and stretching.

"Oh, yes, he did. He insisted, actually. Called it 'research'." Aidan said from the stairs, sounding slightly amused. His gaze was serious though as it rested on me, and I could tell that he was looking for stress or pain on my face. I'd heard Sally telling the guys everything, from how I looked when I slept to how bad my limp was during the day- and that was bound to make him even more worried than ever.

"Guys, guys, guys…does a one-legged duck swim in circles?" Josh suddenly asked very seriously from his corner, looking slightly confused.

"Wow," I said, grinning at him. "That was deep, Josh."

"Oh, and why is it when you hit your elbow, people say 'funny' bone? There is _nothing_ funny about that shit," Josh slurred, then laughed to himself.

"Ok, High-Josh is scaring me, I'm going to go upstairs for awhile until he cools his jets. Oh, and he'll probably have a _huge_ case of the munchies…so…" I said, heading for the stairs, trying not to laugh.

"_HEY!_ What if they invented a toilet that—nevermind." Josh said dreamily, and then I heard him snoring a few minutes later. After I cleaned up, I came back downstairs and snagged a book off the shelf, plopping down next to Aidan on the couch. About twenty seconds into my book, I realized he was watching me.

"Problem, Aidan?" I asked mildly, looking at him. He blinked.

"Aren't you hungry? Don't you have the munchies or whatever?" He asked curiously, and I shrugged.

"Not really. I told you, I can't get addicted to anything, and I've never had problems with side affects. It's so weird, yet _really_ helpful. And you know what? I think I'll smoke again, just for the hell of it." I took my joint off the coffee table and lit up, deciding to smoke this one slower. "What, you want some?" I asked when Aidan didn't stop staring.

"I don't think I can get high." Aidan said, but he didn't sound sure.

"Go on, give it a hit. Hold your breath for as long as you can." I instructed, passing my joint along. Cautiously, Aidan breathed in, passing the joint back to me.

"Oh," he said after about a minute and a half, letting the smoke escape. "I just realized, I can hold my breath forever."

"Really? That's fucked up," I commented after I blew little rings of smoke. Josh started to snore again in the corner, making me chuckle. "So, you feeling even a little high or what?" I asked, and Aidan shrugged.

"I don't feel a thing. But you obviously do. Does the weed really help that much?" He asked, and I nodded vigorously, stubbing out the end of the joint. I'd save some of it for later.

"I haven't taken any Vicodin today, so yeah, it really helps." I said honestly, and Aidan raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. "It makes me normal when I'm not."


	7. Chapter 7

And then, when the week was over, I was perfectly back to normal. I usually had about a week and three days a month when I wasn't sore or PMS-ing, and they mattered the most. The weed was stashed carefully away under Aidan's bed; the ibuprofen forgotten in the bathroom's medicine cabinet. I resumed cleaning and organizing and got my old personality back.

But, no matter how normal I _looked, _now everyone knew just how freaky I really was. For fuck's sake, I'd transformed _in their bathroom. _Of course, jokes were made about how they'd made the right decision renting instead of buying the house, but it didn't make the situation any better to me. It might happen next month, or the month after. What if I didn't make it to the bathroom? What if I leapt out a window and mauled a few hundred people on the streets of Boston in broad daylight? Despite my fears (which I voiced as loudly as possible), Aidan and Josh continued to have faith, and even started letting me get the mail, which meant leaving the house, even if it meant walking ten feet and down a flight of stairs. It was _freedom, _something I craved, but also feared. I wanted out of their old, stuffy and depleted rental, but it didn't feel right for something as feral as me to be free.

And then, surprisingly, I fit in. It was a slow change, and I didn't notice it too much at first, but, suddenly, I belonged. Sally and I depended on each other for conversation and girl bonding. Josh and I depended on each other for support. Aidan, besides being my drug dealer, was a very understanding and _calm _person, almost like the 'Dad' of the house. I could very easily tell that he loved kids, and that he wanted ones of his own real badly. I knew that he didn't _see _me as his child, and that he didn't consider me a child, but I was younger and in need of guidance. Aidan filled the role perfectly, not flinching or backing down when I swore at him, not breaking resolve when the whole house smelled like 'a dead body stuffed with rotting skunks in a river of shit' from my period; not even taking my angry rants seriously. All in all, it seemed to me like I fit into their little motley group, and we all depended on one another. It was different, but not uncomfortable. Just when I was getting used to our quiet little world, it changed.

"Hello? Guys? Anyone home?" an unfamiliar voice called, the front door creaking open cautiously. The person was definitely male. "I don't think anyone's home," the voice continued, and I heard the front door open and shut, three people walking inside. I'd been in the kitchen, gloves up to my elbows scrubbing when he'd first knocked, and I'd frozen that way. I hadn't had contact with any other person besides someone supernatural in _weeks. _Usually, I'd let Aidan and Josh deal with it, but since both were working today…

"_Lauren!_" Sally hissed, appearing by the fridge, looking furious. "It's Danny. He brought Bridget and some chick with them- make them go!" Her voice snapped me out of my little trance. Slowly, I peeled off the gloves and laid them on the sink. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I rounded the corner from the kitchen to the dining room, and then skidded to a halt in 'surprise' when I took in the three people in the living room. Danny looked exactly like Sally had described him; dark hair and a look in his eyes that was almost completely hidden by their dark color. Hate bubbled in me instantly as I looked at him. Bridget seemed very timid, and that worried me. There was something in her posture that suggested that she was meek- and wouldn't offer much of a fight. I didn't want her to become another Sally. The third woman had dark curly hair and what looked like a heavy bag on her shoulder. She smelled like incense and weed.

"Can I…help you?" I asked slowly, trying to keep my cool.

"Who are you?" Danny asked instantly, stepping closer. I held my ground, fixing him with an eagle eyed stare. Time to slip on my acting shoes; I was going to give this guy a hell of a time. He wouldn't forget me quickly, no sir.

"You're Aidan's younger sister. Say it, you look kinda like him!" Sally improvised for me, glaring with such hatred at Danny that he shifted a little, dropping my gaze, feeling Sally's presence. I winced internally at Sally's suggestion, but I couldn't think of anything else fast enough.

"I'm Aidan's younger sister," I said slowly, as if he was a fucking idiot for asking. "Um, what are you doing?" I pressed as Danny retreated back to his posse.

"Before the two men renting the house now were here, Danny lived here with his ex-fiancé. She died here, and she's, well, haunting us." Bridget said nicely enough, but I let my inner bitch come out, cocking a hip and raising an eyebrow. Time to fuck with them.

"So…your point is?" I asked.

"You go girl!" Sally encouraged, living vicariously through me. She was standing in between us and off to the side, looking from me to them like it was a ping pong match or something.

"Celina Valdren, Exorcist." The woman spoke suddenly, extending a hand for me to shake. I raised the eyebrow further and didn't move. She dropped her hand after a few seconds and cleared her throat. The tension went up a notch. "Danny and Bridget hired me to put the young woman who died here to rest."

"Wait, you guys actually believe that a _ghost_ is haunting you? Seriously?" I layered my voice with disbelief, scorn and a bit of hatred, shaking my head. For a second, I saw a flash of vicious anger on Danny's face before it vanished. "When were you planning on telling Aidan and Josh?" I tacked on.

"We were coming over to tell them, but they weren't here," Bridget said quickly, and I snorted, crossing my arms.

"Then why'd witch-chick over there come with you, to sight-see?" I challenged, and Danny stepped forward again, trying to intimidate me. I could see how angry I was making him, and it only fueled the inner bitch. I set my jaw and looked right into his eyes. I could tell that he hated an independent, dominant female, and hell, that's _exactly _what I was. Bring it, Danny.

"Look, I don't know you, but your brother seems like a good person. He's renting here, not you. I don't like your tone." He said angrily, and I raised my eyebrows again with a hint of a smirk. Like I gave a shit about what he thought.

"Well, take _this_," I motioned towards him and his two companions, "up with him and Josh later. I think you should leave."

"This building is mine, and I'll do what I want in it!" Danny yelled in my face, and looked like he could punch me when I only raised an eyebrow again, not at all fazed by his little temper tantrum.

"We can always come back and discuss this later with the current tenants." The voodoo doctor-lady cautioned behind him, looking upset at Danny's behavior. I gave him a challenging stare as he looked away from the witch-doctor and back to me, clearly ready to rant some more.

"Yes, please do so. I'll let them know you 'stopped by'." I said dryly, and Danny almost raised a fist before spinning away from me and leading the way out the door, practically blowing steam out his ears. "He's a real piece of work." I said disgustedly as the door slammed behind the mystic lady.

"_Ohmygodthatwassoawesome!" _Sally crowed, punching the air and dancing around. "You totally handed his ass to him, and in front of other people too! Fuck yeah!"

"But now we've got a lie on our hands," I pointed out, heading for the nearest mirror, and Sally followed, still grinning. Usually, I avoided mirrors like the plague. However, I had to see how Sally got the comparison between me and Aidan. I had the same dark hair, that was true, but my eyes were hazel, not brown, and I didn't have at all the same nose. My skin had _some_ color whereas Aidan's was snow white. "For fuck's sake, Sally, I look nothing like him! Both of us having black hair can't make us related!" I exclaimed, quickly turning away from the mirror to give her my best 'you're gonna die' glare.

"Hey, you didn't have anything to say- I did the best I could." Sally defended herself, still trying to hide her grin. "Make it work," She added in a sleazy French accent when I only looked at her in disbelief.

"You are remembering that they wanted to give you an exorcism, right? If this plan doesn't work, what power do you think Aidan and Josh will have? Danny was right, he technically owns the building." I said after a moment, and Sally's smile fell.

**OoOoOoO**

"Aidan!" Josh's voice hissed from in the scrubs closet on my left. Rolling my eyes, I set down the chart I'd been working on and ducked inside the closet. He'd done this about everyday since we left Lauren alone- he was constantly worried about her. It was sweet, and Lauren was subconsciously doing him a lot of good, but his constant worrying was starting to annoy me.

"Josh. You seriously have to stop this. She's fine." I grumbled, turning to go again, but Josh leapt forward and yanked the door shut as if the world would implode if I walked through it.

"Danny's down the hall, talking to one of the nurses. He looks _really_ mad," Josh whispered. Cautiously, I peeked through the little window. Josh was right. Danny looked slightly red in the face as he pointed accusingly at the nearest nurse, eyes narrowed. With a sigh, the nurse picked up the phone and punched in a few numbers. Seconds later, my pager vibrated on my hip.

"Let me take care of this, alright?" I said wearily to Josh, turning off the pager. Before he could argue, I picked up the nearest pile of scrubs and walked out of the closet. Playing it cool, I moved the pile to my chart, set them down, then took the chart with me up the hall, towards Danny. "You paged me?" I asked, handing the nurse the chart. She jerked her head towards Danny, clearly irritated with him, and turned back to her computer.

"What's wrong?" I asked Danny, and he laughed sarcastically then took a deep breath, trying to keep his temper. I could instantly see how he easily he lost his temper and killed Sally. It was hard to look him in the eye with a neutral, non hateful expression.

"What's _wrong?_ I show up at the house with an exorcist and your sister was there." He said, and I blinked. _Sister?_ Seconds later it clicked. "—I own the property and she kicks us out—so rude-" Danny was still spluttering, gradually turning redder.

"Danny," I said clearly, and he shut up. "Look, my sister has had it a bit…rough." I started, and then a great idea popped into my head. I was going to mess with his mind, the only way I could get revenge on him, for Sally. "I'm originally from Connecticut, and when I moved away to Boston, my sister stayed. When I wasn't there—she was abused and nearly killed by her boyfriend." The color in Danny's face died, and, internally, I smirked. "When I heard of what happened, I insisted that she fly out and stay with me. She's not that great with people, especially men."

"Um-wow, if I had known," Danny started, but I talked right over him.

"No, it's not your fault. I apologize for her behavior. You two should meet again under better circumstances." I said strongly. "But what's all this nonsense about an exorcism?" As soon as I said it, Danny's face started to flush again.

"It's Bridget." He said, and I barely resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. "She thinks that Sally's haunting her or something, and I'm sick of hearing about it. We hired a woman to give the house an exorcism; maybe that'll make Bridget move on." Danny said, passing a hand over his forehead. Of course he'd blame Bridget instead of himself. But he made me wonder; while Josh and I were at work, how often did Sally haunt those two? I'd have to ask Lauren.

"Maybe we can work something out. Why don't we meet tomorrow afternoon and talk about it, ok?" I offered, hoping that would give Josh and I would have enough time to talk Sally out of the house for awhile and to make Lauren seem more like my sister.

"Sure, sure," Danny agreed distractedly. We quickly shook hands and he left. Before he was completely around the corner, Josh skidded to a stop next to me, eyes wide.

"Um, Aidan? I think I messed up." He gulped. Josh looked very scared and very ashamed, a combination that never ended well.

"What do you mean, Josh?" I asked, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"So while you were talking with Danny, I was mopping, right? And B-Bishop walked by and heard you talk about your 'sister'. He asked me about it, and I had to lie, right? So I said that yeah, your sister was staying with us—and then he left." Josh forced out.

"Did you see where he went?" I asked, and Josh just shook his head miserably. It was very easy to make Josh spill secrets, and he hated that.

"You don't think he'd go there-" he started pathetically, but I cut him off, a bad feeling already starting in my gut.

"Yes he would. He's probably there now. _Damn it!"_ I growled under my breath, feeling my hand clench into a fist. Without another word to Josh, I turned back to the nurses' station. "Is there any chance I could get off early?" I asked the nurse, making my voice stay calm. She clicked a few keys on her computer.

"The earliest, if no new patients come in, is in an hour. Is it a personal emergency?" She asked, looking from me to Josh curiously.

"Yes," I almost talked over her in my haste.

"Then half and hour, give or take a few minutes. You'll have to clear it with Doctor Ralmen." She said, and I faked a smile and walked away, pulling Josh with me.

"_Stay here._" I growled to him at the end of the hall, then kept walking, pushing my way into the ICU. It really wasn't Josh's fault, he was right to lie and protect Lauren's fake identity but it was no less irritating that it ended up screwing us over. I didn't know what Bishop would do to Lauren but I knew that it wouldn't be good.

**OoOoOoO**

"It'll be ok. I know it will." Sally kept muttering to herself, pacing around in little circles. "Josh and Aidan can fix it." I rolled my eyes.

"I hope so." I repeated in the same, dry voice I'd been using all along from behind the book I honestly wasn't reading. It irritated me that Sally was remaining so hopeful when it was clear to me that things were pretty much fucked. Someone had to lose- and so far, in my life, it was usually me. Before Sally could continue with her miniature half-hearted pep talk, the doorbell rang. With a sigh, I got up, put my book down, and went to kick Danny off of our front stoop. To my surprise, it wasn't Danny. I felt my stomach lurch as I took in the cop on the doorstep. He had straw colored hair and deep, penetrating eyes. "Can I help you, officer?" I barely heard myself ask. _Shit._

"Officer? _Officer! _Danny called the cops? That son of a bitch-" Sally floated up behind me but then froze, looking at the cop with horror. "Bishop," she gasped in recognition. I worked hard to ignore her- I couldn't talk to the air in front of a cop. I didn't know who 'Bishop' was, but if Sally was afraid then something was definitely wrong.

"Yes, I'm Bishop. May I come in?" He asked, and I felt my jaw drop. He was supernatural; he'd _heard _Sally. Frowning, I looked at him closely, taking in pale skin and a far too polished manner, and it hit me. This guy was a vampire, whoever the hell he was. He was here to fuck with me, to kick my ass all the way from here to New Jersey.

"Don't let him in, call Aidan _now._" Sally said by my shoulder, sounding scared, making goosebumps rise on my arms. Bishop smiled, and it made my stomach plummet. He looked too confident, too smug. The inner wolf instantly freaked out, sensing danger, making my face tighten.

"That wouldn't do you any good anyway." Bishop said smoothly, shouldering his way inside and closing the door politely. "I'm Aidan's creator, and, therefore, I can go to his place of dwelling whenever I please." He continued, advancing on me. I stepped back, trying to think. Alone in a house with a vampire who may or may not be here to kill me. Great.


	8. Chapter 8

Bishop stopped advancing and just observed me after I stepped back, as if analyzing me. I thought I'd take that time to man the fuck up and attack him, but I was having a hard time doing it. I'd gotten a little soft staying with nice people for so long. "Well, I can see how he came up with the lie. The dark hair, the same aura of strength…the same piercing eyes…" He spoke out loud, as if critiquing an art sculpture. "However," he continued, moving forward again, "I find it interesting how he'd try to pull off having a werewolf for a sister."

"Back off," I warned him, hearing my voice snarl, feeling my hand curl into a fist. My heart started to pound until I thought it would break out of my chest. Bishop heard it and smiled softly, not at all afraid.

"You know, I never thought I'd see the day when I came across a _female_ werewolf." Bishop continued like he hadn't even heard me, coming closer yet and raising a hand, not to strike, but to touch. I froze when he lightly traced a finger down my hair then ever so softly over my jaw line. My heart leaped into my throat, the pace increasing until I could hear it in my ears. Something told me deep inside that it would be very stupid to move away at that moment; Bishop was too close, _too close-_

"Didn't you hear her? _Back off!"_ Sally yelled in his ear. As she yelled, it was as if I awoke from a dream. The inner wolf roared to the surface, making me see red; survival mode kicking in. Before I even realized it, a hand came up and slapped his away, and I leapt into the air and _kicked_ him in the chest, making him stumble backwards. As he blinked, looking at me in surprise, I felt anger swell in me from nowhere. I heard a faint growl edging over each breath I took. The scent of vampire on the air made my blood boil. If he wanted a fight, I'd give him one.

"Forgive me, Aidan did mention that you'd been… abused previously." Bishop said calmly, stepping forward again when I felt my eyes narrow. Did Aidan have little sit down chats with this bastard and just spill personal information to him like it was nothing? Did this guy know the whole story; all of the lies? "But I assume that's a lie to cover up how wild you are." He said dispassionately. "What werewolf in their right mind would try to hurt a vampire at their first meeting? The only kind would be one who is a little… uncontrolled." He continued, unknowingly winding up the little beast inside me until I was shaking with barely controlled rage and fear. "Although," he said, his eyes glancing down to my left hip. "You have lived roughly, that I am certain."

"Ok, get the hell out," Sally snapped, pointing to the door, the house starting to rattle in her anger; light bulbs flickering, just ready to explode.

"And a werewolf so _young_ to boot," Bishop kept talking to himself, starting to walk around me. Inside, the wolf _freaked._ I started taking deep breaths, trying to calm down, even closing my eyes to get the vampire's face out of my head. The wolf crawled closer and closer to the outside until I was shuddering harder than ever. The scent of vampire surrounding me had me so close to changing it was actually a real threat. But I had to hold together. I _could not_ change now, not when I wasn't contained.

"Bishop, shut up before she explodes! Lauren, are you ok?" I could barely hear Sally asking anxiously.

"Explodes? Impossible." Bishop said smugly. His tone was the last straw. My eyes snapped open as the usual tingling pain zinged up my spine, making me gasp hoarsely. The wolf burst through, sending me down to take it's place, no matter how hard I scrabbled and fought against it.

"Holy shit," Sally whispered after I did it again, shivering. The last thing I saw was Bishop turning to look at her before it happened. I collapsed onto all fours, the feral groans and screams erupting from my throat as my bones stretched and flipped, rearranging themselves…

**OoOoOoO**

Bishop skidded back to stand next to me as Lauren the wolf shook her head in almost confusion, lumbering to her feet. Whatever he got now what was exactly what he deserved. I hoped deep down that Lauren mauled him to shreds. Her head snapped up and looked directly at Bishop, making him take a step back. There wasn't any hatred or anger in her eyes at all; there was nothing but fear. With a quiet yelp, she bolted backwards, into the kitchen. Seconds later, I heard glass breaking. Without hesitation, I ran to the kitchen and froze. The kitchen window was broken, and Lauren was gone. "Holy shit, holy shit, _holy shit!" _I whispered fearfully, going to the broken window and peeking out. The only trace that Lauren had been there were a few drops of blood and some large paw prints in the dust of the back alley. Lauren was loose in Boston. "Look at what you've done!" I bellowed, running back into the living room only to find that Bishop had vanished. I ran out the open front door and right through Aidan, making us both shudder for a second.

"What happened?" he asked, whirling around and sniffing the air, smelling werewolf blood and assuming the worst. He quickly looked behind him, eyes narrowing as he saw Bishop charge around the nearest corner and out of sight.

"She changed, Bishop scared her enough, and then she turned and ran and broke-through-the-kitchen-window-"

"Slow down," Aidan said urgently, almost reaching out to put his hands on my shoulders.

"She broke through the kitchen window. As a wolf. She's out on the streets. In broad daylight." I forced out, trying not to hyperventilate. Aidan's eyes widened until I thought they'd fall right out of his head.

"Go find Josh in the hospital. She's bleeding- I'll find her." Aidan said hoarsely after a moment, then turned and ran. Wasting no time, I vanished, reappearing at the nurses' station where Josh and Aidan punched in to work every day. They didn't look that busy, but the floor was full of people. I would never find Josh this way!

"_Josh?" _I yelled at the floor, looking for his scruffy little head. It jerked up at the very end of the hallway, and he quickly pulled his cart over and darted into the nearest empty room, holding it open for me and then shutting and locking the door.

"What's happening?" Josh demanded, pacing nervously around the room.

"Bishop went to the house and Lauren changed and now she's loose in Boston." I spit out all in one breath, wringing my hands together. "Aidan's after her now, but I mean, it's broad freaking daylight! She's out on the streets!" I started to full out panic, especially when Josh's jaw dropped in horror.

**OoOoOoO**

Running down the street at a vampire's pace, I barely had to see the looks of surprise, shock, and fear on human's faces from seeing Lauren to know that I was on the right track. She was running a clear path, straight down the middle of a busy road, leaping over cars. She hadn't mauled anyone yet, and I was praying that my assumption that she was always meek as a werewolf would prove true. I was lucky that she wasn't that hard to follow, either. Having cut herself on the kitchen window in her escape, tiny drops of blood were leading the way. I had no hope of catching up to her when she was running, but if she stopped, I could reach her.

The wail of sirens started up behind me, but I ignored them. They were far back, almost four miles away, and both Lauren and I would be fast enough to disappear before the police ever made it to us. As I ran, I cursed Bishop for all he was worth. It was his fault that Lauren escaped and was putting every supernatural creature in Boston at risk, not mine. When Lauren wasn't provoked and scared, she was normal, just like Josh. I would make sure that she didn't take the fall for this. Bishop should've asked me first and not have gone and stuck his nose where it didn't belong. Lauren continued to run through town until we got into another slum, where she started to slow down. There was less traffic and less people, which probably made her more comfortable. Finally, she stopped. A few more minutes of me running to follow her, and I arrived at the mouth of a very foul and dark alley. The splotches of blood were much bigger now, something that worried me. "Lauren?" I called cautiously, my eyes easily penetrating through the filth and darkness. Then, I saw her. The wolf was staggering, slowly shrinking, until it was only Lauren that stumbled forth on two legs, catching herself on the wall. "Lauren!" I called, jogging down the alley and kneeling beside her when she fell.

"I'm ok," she groaned, using one hand to get her dark hair out of her face. Her other hand was drawn up to her chest, keeping her shoulder still. There was a large gash down her shoulder and collar bone. Blood was spilling down her side and onto the dank stone.

"Here," I said quickly, digging into my jacket and pulling out my scrubs. "The sooner we leave here, the better. We can leave no trace." Swearing under her breath in pain, Lauren pulled on the scrubs and stood up, the left shoulder instantly turning red when the cloth stuck to her cut. "Come on," I offered her my arms, and she accepted wearily. Taking a different, quicker route home paid off, and we got there in about six minutes.

"Thank god," Sally breathed as I kicked the door shut, setting Lauren down at the same time. She caught herself on the wall with her free-hand with a wince, still holding her hurt arm to her chest, head hanging low.

"You ok? No your not, your shoulder, um, ok-" Josh popped up from nowhere, gingerly leading her back inside and onto the couch. Letting Josh take care of it, I went back outside and cleaned up all of her blood out of the back alley and taped over the window, making it look as inconspicuous as possible. All of my senses were on high-alert. The vampires of this city wouldn't be happy now that something so supernatural had happened right under their nose. Lauren's scent and blood would lead them here.

"Is she alright?" I asked, coming back inside, shutting the door and locking it. Josh was sitting on the coffee table across from Lauren, who was sprawled on the couch looking much too pale. Sally was pacing furiously in the background, swearing under her breath, using expressions Lauren often used.

"I'm fine," Lauren groaned, holding her head in her hands, clearly not fine. "The cut's already healed."

"You have to kick Bishop's ass. No, kill the bastard!" Sally growled, and the house rocked on its foundation.

"No," Lauren said, and for a moment, there was dead silence. "He wasn't going to hurt me. He was just curious. It's my fault for freaking out."

"Are you crazy?" Josh yelped. Lauren shook her head, looking up.

"It was his smell, not him. When a vampire is near, one that I don't trust," she added, glancing at me, "I morph. This has happened before, but not as badly. I didn't escape into a densely populated city."

"He still shouldn't have come here, uninvited. He did it to punish me, mock me. I'm sorry," I apologized, and she snorted, standing up with a wince. Josh jerked, as if to make her sit again, but then thought better of it. Lauren winced, rotating her shoulder.

"The only one at fault here is the wolf."


	9. Chapter 9

"Well, that didn't take long," I sighed, looking at the paper that Josh had brought home. Splashed across the front cover was the headline, _Giant Mammal Shocks Boston, _with a few blurry shots of a large four-legged animal (aka, ME) blown up and exaggerated until it was mostly pixels.

"This will blow over in two days, mark my words. They have no proof or photos—they don't even know what you were." Aidan said confidently by the bookshelf, but his brows were furrowed.

"I'm not so worried about the general public. I'm worried about that Bishop guy and what all the other lovely vampires in this city will have to say about this. Sprinting in wolf form through the city was like a giant invitation for them to come and try to mess with me." I muttered, running a hand over my hair.

"No one will come near, not until after this transformation." Aidan responded, still sounding confident. Josh and I were due to transform in exactly four days. After that, I'd be a wreck but get better just in time for my other monthly problem. It wasn't exactly the brightest outlook for the next month, especially when I could possibly have a city of angry and cocky vampires coming after me, wanting a fight I couldn't win.

"And what happens after this transformation? You're going to hold off all of the vampires in Boston single-handedly?" I asked, getting to my feet. "Face it, Aidan. If you don't catch even a bit of hell for the fiasco, I certainly will. Even if all of those vamps loved me, they'd still kill me off so that I couldn't accidentally expose supernatural creatures like us again."

"I could call in some favors-" Aidan started, but I cut him off.

"_No._ You're not getting in trouble for me." I said sharply, standing up. "I already got you into shit with Danny- but I'm not getting you into anymore _real _trouble with the vampires."

"Yes, speaking of Danny," Sally threw in before Aidan could yell at me, "He'll be here in an hour, and we have no idea what the hell we're doing." Aidan looked at me a second longer before sighing, running a hand over his face.

"Ok, one thing at a time. Let's take care of Danny first. He'll probably bring Bridget, and they'll hopefully want to talk more about Sally than you." Aidan said to me, coming over and sitting down on the couch, giving me a look that suggested that I do the same. I did as he silently asked, trying not to swear and kick something. Why did my life suck so much, and why did I drag other people into it? "I'm posing as a twenty three year old, so we need to bump your age up a bit," Aidan said, scrutinizing me.

"How about twenty?" Sally offered, looking at me as well.

"Sure?" I said, easing a crick out of my neck. I'd have to act at least a bit civil now when I wanted to be a total bitch, and that irritated me. Everything was falling to pieces and I had to act like some normal human girl who was emotionally unstable. I _was _emotionally unstable but I wasn't normal or at all human- that would be the hard part.

"Our parents are dead, that's what the hospital thinks, and our stories have to match. Your boyfriend was just like Danny- feel free to describe him as you please. Just not too much swearing, alright?" Aidan gave me free reign, and I saw Sally's eyes light up in delight in the corner. She and I were both going to have fun with this.

"Scout's Honor," I said sarcastically. "Now, are we the lovey-dovey, really close sibling type, or are we a bit more controlled than that?" I asked, trying to remain business like. I'd never had the close relationship I'd just described with anyone. I didn't really like being close to people- it made me and the wolf nervous because we new deep down that they'd only get hurt.

"You should be building into the really close type. You previously weren't on that great of terms, but your tragedy has brought you together." Sally said poetically, and I pulled a face but agreed. This was going to suck _balls. _

"He's coming. Josh?" Aidan called a minute later, and Josh came downstairs. "Did you get all that?" He asked and Josh nodded. Josh's hearing was pretty good too, giving us the liberty of spreading out and still being able to hear each other. "I'm going to get the door. Everyone play cool," Aidan stressed before getting up to answer the door when Danny knocked.

"That means you too," Josh whispered to Sally, who huffed, crossing her arms and shooting Josh the bird.

"Hi, come on in," Aidan's voice came the small foyer, and then three sets of footsteps came into the living room. I put a small, sheepish smile on my face and stood when Josh did to greet the two of them again.

"Nice to meet you," Bridget said politely, and internally, I snorted with laughter. All I wanted to do was bad-mouth the two of them until they cried, but that wasn't going to happen.

"You too," I offered, and quickly shook hands with Danny when Aidan gave me a hard stare. I let go as soon as possible, knowing that I just touched the hands that shoved Sally down the stairs. Besides- contact of any kind seemed to make me uneasy. Hell, I didn't even let Aidan or Josh touch me, much less angry psychopaths.

"Can I get you guys anything? Coffee? Water?" Josh asked, his gaze sweeping over our awkward group. Aidan had sat unusually close next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders in a protective gesture. It was also a reminder to be civil. I didn't like it.

"Uh, water's fine, thanks," Danny said, and Josh left, looking relieved once he was out of Danny's sight.

"So, um, I'm sorry that I was so rude to the both of you." I said quietly, figuring it was best to just get this over with. "I guess I- I'm not a people person." I put the blame on me and Aidan twitched slightly, as if to correct me.

"I wouldn't say that," Bridget disagreed instantly, sounding like she was trying to comfort me. "I bet you're great with people." When all I did was grimace, Danny took the conversation.

"How long have you been in Boston?" He asked, making small talk, but I winced anyway.

"A month or two…I don't know. Time really flies." I said, looking up at Aidan, hoping that he'd either come up with a better lie or agree. He smiled down at me and gave me a quick squeeze. I stiffened but then fought it down. I _hated _being close to people and being touched- Aidan knew that too.

"It's been almost two months. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Danny, that there would be another tenant for awhile. It was easier that way." Aidan said, and Danny shook his head furiously, to my surprise. What an actor.

"No, no, it's fine. Don't worry about it, I completely understand." Danny said, shooting me an apologetic glance.

"No you don't, you lying fuck!" Sally yelled suddenly, making me jump a little. Time seemed to slow. Danny and Bridget were starting to look surprised, and Aidan was tightening his grip, trying to keep me from freaking out. _Shit. _Trying to think quickly and failing to find an option I was comfortable with, I was forced to turn my jump of shock into a cuddling motion into Aidan. The inner wolf started a bad feeling in my stomach as I did so, not liking the closeness. Aidan's tightened grip now looked like another reassuring squeeze, and Bridget and Danny relaxed. I fought to keep my face at least neutral, when all I wanted to do was get the hell away. My fingertips started to tremble.

"Here," Josh said, coming in and setting down a tray full of glasses of water, shooting a look at Sally when no one was looking. Glad to have a reason to get away from Aidan, at least for a moment, I wormed out of his grip and took a glass, sitting up straight on the edge of the couch when Josh sat next to me, sandwiching me in the middle of the couch. I hastily took a sip of water, hoping that my two 'guardians' would get the hint that I was waaaaaaaay too uncomfortable.

They didn't.

"I'd also like to apologize for pushing Danny to hire an exorcist. I don't know what I was thinking." Bridget said, looking down into her lap. Danny looked a little smug, and it made me furious.

"It really wouldn't have been a problem," Josh said, leaning back into the couch and putting an arm around the back of my seat too. The inner wolf skidded away from him only to run into Aidan, skid back, and stay huddled in the middle of my mind, ready to go on the offensive in a second. I shifted, uncomfortable. If I felt too threatened I'd always morph.

"Oh, not cool, Josh!" Sally said, storming over to stand behind Danny and Bridget. "Those fucks trying to murder me wouldn't have been a problem? That's sweet, really nice-" Unable to stand the closeness any longer, I quickly got up, savoring the rush of air around me as I took deep, shaky breaths in an effort to calm down.

"Lauren," Aidan warned quietly. I took a deep breath, calling on my acting skills again. I had to end this _now_.

"I'm sorry," I said, letting my voice start to get thick. "Really, I am- but I can't." To my surprise, they bought it. I fled for the stairs and out of the room, rejoicing in the open space around me. I'd been very close to morphing in front of our guests, and that would ruin Josh and Aidan's lives forever.

"She does this, hold on- _Lauren!" _Josh was the one who called, getting up and skidding around the corner and almost into me when he found me standing calmly in the landing, not at all upset, at least, not as upset as I'd sounded. I was still a little wild- I didn't like the closeness of human contact. "What's wrong?" He whispered, but the sound carried into the living room. I gave him a tiny smile before continuing my act.

"He _looks _like him!" I said 'tearfully', adding a sniff for good measure.

"Who?" Josh asked, truly confused, which only fueled the moment.

"_Him!" _I cried, letting a bit of hysteria go into my voice. "He looks just like—like—" I let out a strangled sob and headed for the stairs. Josh caught my wrist on the landing, stopping me, but winked, realizing what I was doing. I grinned at him, listening to the dead silence in the living room.

"Lauren, it's ok, he'll never hurt you again." Josh said, as if we'd rehearsed this. I fought down a snigger.

"It's like he's come back to life and he's hurting people, hurting _me!" _I threw onto the pile of ridiculous statements we'd made.

"Fuck yes! I love you guys!" Sally crowed, racing in from the living room. "They're coming though, quick, finish him off!"

"Hey, hey, it's ok," Josh said, suddenly giving me a hug and rubbing my back as footsteps started up in the living room. My inner wolf _freaked_. My gasps were real as Aidan quietly saw Bridget and Danny out the door, Sally heckling them the whole time. As soon as the door closed, I backed away from Josh, breaking his hold and, in my haste, plopping down on the steps while taking deep breaths.

"That. Was. _Brilliant!" _Sally shouted, punching the air in delight.

"Thanks," I panted, scrambling up another step, trying to keep my cool. My hands were shaking and my heart was going a million miles per hour. Aidan heard it and his head shot up.

"Sorry, I just- are you ok?" Josh asked, quickly descending the stairs to give me space.

"I will be in a minute." I said, forcing myself to relax, resting my head back on the step above and breathing slowly. The ceiling warped for a moment before righting itself again. My heartbeat slowly started to go back to normal.

"Sally's right- Lauren, that was amazing. You too, Josh. I don't think they'll bother us again." Aidan said, leaning against the back of the door once he new that I wasn't going to morph again.

"You guys kicked _ass! _I love you!" Sally cheered, a big smile on her face. Right away, I knew that putting up with the pain and discomfort had been totally worth it. Sally was usually a bright person, but it was very easy for her to get depressed, even though she hid it very well. It was great to see her as happy as she was.

"So, about this vampire problem…" I said, hauling myself to my feet now that my wolf had calmed down a little. "What are we going to do?"


	10. Chapter 10

It was the night of the full moon.

Josh, Aidan, Sally and I were under the hospital, inspecting the room right next to Josh's. It was a bit smaller, and the ceiling was a bit lower, but that wouldn't be a problem; I was much smaller than Josh anyway. Aidan pried off the door handle on the inside and dropped the piece of metal on the floor. I hated the room with all of my being. I was used to wide open space where I was free to roam. I liked the protection of the forest, even if I hunted creatures and got covered in blood and dirt. "I know you don't like it, Lauren, but its better this way." Aidan said, coming over to where I was running a hand over the cold stone walls.

"I can get used to it." I said quietly, not turning around to look at him. I would have to get used to it. Now that I'd pissed off most of supernatural Boston, I needed to stay close to Aidan and Josh, for protection; or flee, something Aidan and Josh and Sally wouldn't let me do. It had been Aidan's idea to keep me close to Josh, so that it would be easier for him to protect all of his mortal friends. I'd agreed, but I had a few regrets, especially about the room. Considering I was even being _offered _protection, I figured that I shouldn't complain, though.

"Sally is going to stick around to make sure no other vampires show up. I'll be down right away first thing in the morning to get you guys. Do you both have your stakes?" Aidan asked, and I sighed, turning around and reaching into my pocket, pulling out a long sharpened piece of wood, Josh doing the same. Aidan had made Josh and I practice staking so that we'd be able to do it at a moments notice. Josh had been very hesitant considering he'd never hurt anything in his life, but I'd found it rather boring. I'd fought vampires before, they both knew it, but they didn't know the details. I wanted to keep it that way, for their sake. Both of them thought that I was only calm as a wolf, and that fact gave them peace of mind. I didn't want to take that away from them.

"It won't be so bad. I'll keep you company." Sally said reassuringly, but I didn't smile. The vampires hadn't made contact, hadn't hunted down Aidan, and hadn't left messages or threats. Their silence put me on edge- they were either going to leave me alone (fat chance) or they were going to get me at my weakest and slaughter me. They'd probably kill Josh too, and Aidan if he tried to intervene. That weight on my shoulders made me anxious. If I could just take them on _now, _when I was mentally and physically able, it would all be easier.

"Everything is going to be fine." Josh said confidently, but as I turned away without a word, I saw him glance at Aidan, worried. I limped around the room, finding that pacing burned off some of my steam and kept me a bit calmer. After a moment, Sally padded along side me. After quiet and quick goodbyes, Aidan and Josh ducked out, closing the door and sealing us inside. I moved grimly to the middle of the room and started to strip once silence descended outside. I still didn't have a whole lot of clothes, so in order to keep the ones I had on clean and in one piece; I'd have to get this over with.

"You're still so thin," Sally commented, and I rolled my eyes, kicking my clothes into a corner. I knew she was trying to distract me, but this wasn't going to be pleasant. I'd told her that, but she didn't listen. She'd seen Josh transform, but according to Aidan, Josh's transformation and mine were like night and day, complete opposites. "I mean, seriously, what are you, a size zero? Cause you're really-" As she was rambling, it happened; the pain whizzed down my spine as if I'd been lashed, making me choke and fall to my knees. If I didn't fight it, it wasn't as painful, but it still hurt _a lot. _It felt like I was dying. Sally hastily retreated as the claws shot from my fingernails and my back hunched then arched as I tried not to scream. Aidan had told Josh and Sally what it sounded like, as to not worry them, but I still didn't want them to have to hear and see this. I couldn't imagine how eerie it must sound from next door. In one big burst, even faster than usual, I changed with blood-curdling screams as my body flipped and twisted to its new shape…

Something was odd, however. It was as if I was looking at Sally from far away and underwater, but I could see her, and, most importantly, recognize that it was her. I knew where I was. However, the wolf in charge tried to run at Sally and maul her, but Sally disappeared without another word, face distraught.

**OoOoOoO**

I woke up slowly, uncomfortable, but too sleepy to do anything about it. My whole body throbbed as if I'd been beaten with a bat. Unable to keep in a groan of pain, I sat up, shaking my hair out of my eyes. I was blessedly alone, and it was very quiet outside. I got to my feet with another groan and stumbled over to my clothes. It took me awhile to actually get dressed- every joint in my body was creaking unpleasantly. "Sally?" I asked, my voice hoarse, as usual. My hand slipped into my pocket and pulled out my stake as I limped heavily over to the door and peered out. Sally was nowhere to be seen- and neither was Aidan. A bad feeling started in my gut, but I tried to focus and not flip out in the small space, backing away from the door and gratefully sitting down. I listened for Josh, but the walls were so thick that he'd have to yell, and even then I might not hear him. Even if he'd called out to me, I wouldn't be able to answer- my voice was shot. Frowning, I rubbed my arms. My change last night had been faster than ever, almost instantaneous. _Why _was it so fast? And, more importantly, why had I recognized Sally? Lately, with every change, I'd become more and more aware of who _I _was, and I could even recognize people I knew. _Why_ was that happening?

I waited on the floor, getting more and more worried until I finally heard footsteps coming down the ancient hallway. I frowned, listening through the thick stone walls. Someone was with Aidan- it sounded like three extra people were with him. Instantly sensing danger, I struggled to my feet. "Let him out first." I heard Bishop's voice and I froze, my grip tightening on the stake. Something was terribly wrong- and I could already sense that I'd have to fight my way out of this. There was a rusty creak and then some fierce shuffling from next door, as if an animal was caught in a net. Confused but unwilling to go to the window, I backed away, getting ready for what was coming.

"Oh, little werewolf…" A new, meaner voice called, and someone laughed. The door to my room creaked open. "Come out, come out!" When I didn't move, someone ducked in. It was a very tall, fierce looking vampire, with a nasty sneer on his mouth. His dark eyes sparkled with menace in the low light. "Ah, you don't need that stake," He said coolly, taking in my action-ready stance. "We're just taking you out for a walk, doggie."

"Somehow, I highly doubt that." I said, my voice sharp and cold. He growled, his fangs starting to poke at his lip. I felt the inner wolf start to rise up inside me, ready for the fight, and my lip started to curl. My knees flexed slightly as I rested on the balls of my feet, ready to kill.

"She's going to fight," He said clearly to the people outside. There was a pause, and then with more shuffling, another vampire came into view, holding Josh fast by the collar. I sucked in a fast breath, feeling the snarl fall right off my face. I forced myself to assume a neutral, almost bored expression, but the damage was done. I had to pretend as if they were nothing to me, even though they were. This was no longer just about me; it was about Josh and Aidan too. I wouldn't have them die for me, not in a million years. My mind instantly considered the option of dying here, now, today, just for their sakes. If I took out a few vampires with me, the better my death would be, right?

"I wouldn't do that," said Bishop's cool voice. "Aidan and Josh won't like you for that."

"I could give a flying fuck," I snapped, lifting the stake, feeling my lip curl fully into a snarl. "If you want me, come and get me." The vampire in front of me let out a low snarl but didn't move, waiting for instructions. "I'll give you one chance. Let Aidan and Josh go and leave us alone, or I'll fight you to the death." I offered, my nerves tingling with the prospect of a fight. I was already picking out weaknesses on the vampire in front of me, planning attacks. The shocked, slightly scared look on Josh's face at my reaction only fueled me.

"Lauren-" Josh protested, but the vampire pulled up sharply on his collar, cutting him off. Disregarding his statement, I let the wolf start to take over, let emotion fall away. I crouched, ready to fight. It would come any second now. The vampire in front of me copied me, letting his fangs slide out completely.

"So be it." Bishop said, and the vampire threw himself at me. I raised the stake and punched out at the same time, clipping the vampire in the neck and knocking him off balance with a crunch. Given the opportunity, I staked him with a feral snarl that echoed around the room. Before he completely disappeared, the vamp punched me hard in the ribs, sending my flying backwards and hitting the wall with a nasty thud. With a clatter, the stake fell to the floor. I made myself get up, even though I could barely breathe, and grabbed my stake again.

"Round two?" I called sarcastically, but even I heard the pain in my voice. My head was throbbing- my body screaming- and I'd gotten lucky with the first vampire- he'd been cocky. I might not be so lucky next time- not as a human, anyway. There was a moment of silence, and then the guy holding Josh shoved him roughly away and stalked into the cell, giving me a venomous smile, his fangs snapping out.

"You can still back out. We'll make it very quick." He promised, holding still. I glared at him, not moving either. "Don't you think that you've suffered enough? All you have to do is come with us- it won't take a moment to kill you. Then you'll never feel pain again- you'll never hurt anyone else." He said quietly, and I felt my eyes flicker. Was this really the way I should go? One quick end? I'd never have to do drugs again, I'd never scream in pain as I transformed ever, _ever _again. "I'll even do it myself," The vampire continued, seeing something on my face. "I promise you that I'm very quick." He said, cracking his knuckles. I slowly started to lower the stake, realizing that in reality, he was probably right. I was a nuisance- a bother, and my life was hell. Could he give me a way out?

"Don't listen to him!" Josh yelled, and my gaze snapped up to look at him. A hand grabbed him and dragged him out of my sight, but the damage was done. What the hell was I _thinking? _My life might be hell, but it was a life. I had people who cared about me, and I had my whole life ahead of me to try and get over this problem. Realizing my mistake, I lifted my stake just in time as the vampire raced over and punched me hard in the face, effortlessly snapping the bridge of my nose and cracking my left cheekbone. The force of his punch forced me into the wall again, making my head pound with new intensity. I took deep breaths of his scent, knowing there was only one way I could win this. He picked me up by the leg and _threw_ me across the room, and that time I yelled out in pain when my already busted hip hit the ground with a nasty crunch. I had felt the bones break again, and the shards were digging into my thigh. _Transform! _I willed myself, and to my surprise, the pain raced down my spine.

"Stop it! Leave her alone!" I heard one of my guardians bellowing outside as I started to scream and writhe. They didn't realize what I was doing… The vamp in front of me knew though, and he was backing away, towards the door.

"That's not possible," He was saying lowly, watching me as my back arched and twisted. Instead of the usual feeling of falling away as my screams reached a pitch, I was more heightened of who I was than ever, the anxious need to protect Aidan and Josh spurring me forward. Fully transformed and the pain in my hip dulled, I rolled over with the most fearsome, animalistic snarl I could muster. I tackled the vampire, wrestled him to the floor, and bit off his head. The taste of his blood was disgusting, but I had no time to lose. I burst through the doorway before Bishop could close it and looked around, ears flat against my head, eyes narrowed. Josh was sprawled across the ground, mostly unhurt, watching Bishop, who had a stake in Aidan's back. All of them were watching me, transfixed, knowing that they were seconds away from death. Teeth bared, I advanced on Bishop, who, surprisingly, held his ground. I looked closely at how he had a grip on Aidan. I didn't want to hurt him as I went for Bishop's head. Praying that this would work, I feigned to the left and then snatched Bishop away from the right, just knocking Aidan off balance and slamming Bishop into the wall and slashing him to pieces. As soon as he was taken care of, I sat like a giant dog, head cocked to one side as I took in my family.

I was in shock, awe, and confusion. For one thing, I'd transformed under my own steam, something I thought was impossible. Secondly, I'd saved their lives; I was a wolf, yet I was myself. Finally, _how _did Bishop get to them, and where was Sally? "Stay still, Josh," Aidan said lowly, having not moved an inch since I'd freed him. Josh stayed stock still on the floor, eyes wide, looking like he'd just pissed himself. I perked my ears up, hoping to encourage them, and lay down with a tiny whine as my broken hip had to rotate. I rested my head on my paws and looked at Josh and Aidan. "Josh, do you get the feeling that she recognizes us?" Aidan said softly, still not moving.

"Yeah," Josh said hoarsely, slowly sitting up. My eyes followed him, noticing that he was sore from the full moon and there was a scratch on his cheek, but other than that, he looked alright. "Lauren?" Josh asked, getting to his feet and cautiously advancing, ignoring Aidan's twitch, as if to stop him. I blinked, letting my tail thump once on the floor. He stopped barely half a foot away, hand outstretched. Very slowly, as to not scare him, I lifted my head until his hand was right between my ears. "Oh- _oh my god_." Josh gasped, looking down at me in shock, eyes bugging out.

"I thought this was impossible." Aidan said, remaining where he was. _So did I,_ I thought without humor, still at a loss as to how I'd done it. My eyes flicked to him and stayed there. He looked alright too- just a little ruffled. As if he saw permission in my gaze, he gradually approached and put a hand next to Josh's. Their touch _was _foreign, but not unwelcome. Before I could stop it, a wolfy, edgy purr rumbled through my chest and my eyes closed. Somewhere deep, deep inside, it felt right. Both of them let go like lightning, but once they interpreted it correctly, put their hands back down. "Where are you hurt?" Aidan asked me, and I lifted my head away and sniffed my left back leg and let out another whine as I sensed how the bones weren't reforming like they usually would at this point. I couldn't exactly point out the back of my head and where my ribs were on fire, so I simply looked at the guys again.

"Can you change back just as fast?" Josh asked the million dollar question, and I hesitated. There was no more danger, no one needed to be saved. I was free to be me again. _Shift back._ I willed myself, and, to my awe, my body did it. It was painful, especially for my hip, but I managed it until I was curled around my normal, human body on the floor, gasping. I'd made lots of nasty, disgusting noises as I'd changed back, but I was me. "Here," Josh said hastily, and I heard him run and get his over-night bag, drawing out his clothes from yesterday, considering I'd shredded mine transforming suddenly. I slowly pulled on his button up plaid shirt and then got into the jeans with some creative swearing. Holding my whole left side up off the ground was difficult, especially when Aidan and Josh gave me a hand up.

"Mother _fucker!" _I gasped as I balanced on one leg, holding onto each one of their arms tight for support. Usually I would hate touching them, but I couldn't hold myself up otherwise. Blood was starting to stain Josh's jeans and roll down my leg- I shouldn't have moved it so fast. Something in there had shifted, and it _hurt. _To my surprise, Josh _hugged _me. I patted him gingerly on the back, not used to the gesture, or what it meant. Even though it made me nervous, I let him do it.

"You ok?" He asked quietly, examining my face as he pulled back, lightly touching it.

"Yeah," I said, looking swiftly away. Josh held me up as Aidan ducked into the room I'd transformed in and picked up my stake and all of my shredded clothes. Then, the two of them started to help me limp up the tunnel. It was hard- I couldn't use my left leg at all, and it was hard to breathe from my ribs and broken nose.

"We can't do this," Josh said angrily after a few minutes. "You can barely walk- or even breathe. Aidan should just carry you." Gasping and shuddering, I leaned on him, trying to think straight. That would leave him at a disadvantage if we ran into other vampires, and that was the last thing I wanted.

"I'll—heal." I gasped. "Just—give—it—a—minute."

"You don't have a minute." Purred a voice, and then something _tackled _me, shooting us off down the hallway. We landed with a crunch that left me completely numb- I didn't even cry out. My eyes weren't working right, everything was fuzzy; but I could see a vampire crouching over me, opening a little packet and emptying what looked like glitter onto my chest. I could see Aidan racing towards us in the background, raising a stake before the vampire on me punched me hard in the head, causing me to instantly blackout.


	11. Chapter 11

I staked the vampire on top of Lauren with such ferocity that the stake snapped in half. The force of his tackle had sent Lauren flying almost twenty feet back down the tunnel and in the time it had taken me to get to her, the other vampire had already punched her in the head, leaving a long bloody gash on her forehead. As Josh ran over, I quickly assessed Lauren for injuries. The back of her head had hit the tunnel floor with too much speed- and she'd hit it twice before hand, so her skull might have cracked. The punch to her head had obviously fractured her skull, so that was two head wounds. Her nose was swollen, obviously broken, and the left side of her face was swollen too- so I could assume a broken cheekbone. Hesitantly, I gently felt her neck. As soon as I touched it I knew- she'd cracked vertebrae- moving her now would be impossible. If she'd cracked her neck, her back probably was at least fractured as well. My gaze traveled down and stopped. Spread all over Lauren's torso was a gleaming grey powder. Realizing what it was, I threw out an arm just in time to stop Josh from touching her. "What are you _doing?"_ Josh panted, trying to duck under my arm, eyes bugging out in his anxious fear for Lauren.

"You can't touch her- there's silver powder all over her." My voice sounded dry and harsh, making Josh freeze in shock.

"Silver powder?" He repeated, chest heaving as he tried to understand. "I don't-"

"Listen!" I said forcefully, standing up and pushing Josh back from Lauren a bit, to lower his risk of exposure. "Lauren is seriously injured- and if we are going to help her, we have to get back to the house. I'm taking you first, so you can free Sally."

"Free Sally?" Josh interjected, still panicking. "Oh god, what happened to Sally?"

"Bishop lined the inside of the house with salt- it's trapped her inside somehow." I explained with all the patience I could muster; I was just as panicked as him. "I'll take you back- you can free her and get some supplies ready. I'll bring Lauren after."

"No," Josh disagreed, having heard my plan in its entirety, "I'll stay behind and you take Lauren back first."

"Josh, her neck is broken." I said quietly, and he flinched. "I have no doubt that it will heal- but until that happens, you know that we can't move her. Let me take you back." I said firmly, and he looked at me for a minute, then sighed, shoulders crumpling in defeat.

"Fine," He said quickly, shooting a look at Lauren and frowning in worry. I let him look for a second before I scooped him up and ran as fast as I could go, whizzing through the city at a deadly speed. I dropped him off at the front stoop and ran away without another word. My feet pounded the pavement as I ran back to the hospital, and I skidded through the old tunnels until I was back to Lauren. The first thing I did was brush as much of the dust off of her as I could without spreading it- it was so fine that it could get literally everywhere- she could even breathe it in, if she hadn't already. Then I checked her heart rate and breathing. Her heart was faint and unstable, her breathing erratic. When I felt her forehead, I found it burning with incredible heat. Anxious to go, I felt her neck and was disappointed to find that it had only started to heal; I'd have to wait. With that time, I felt along her left hip to find it almost healed- but still not correctly- she'd have a worse limp now than ever. I went back to her neck again and felt gently around; scowling when I felt that it was still healing. If I had had a heartbeat then, it would have been pounding through my body. Looking at Lauren had always made my heart ache with sorrow, with bitterness, with pain; but now I knew without a doubt that I loved her like she was my own child. Josh had fallen first- as soon as he'd laid eyes on her he'd felt a connection. I'd been a bit more wary, especially of her habits and language. But now I felt a certainty that I'd care for her for the rest of my immortal life.

The wait was the worst I'd felt in my whole 200 or so year existence. I'd brushed the hair from her face, dabbed the blood from the cuts, but I could do nothing else. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it hurt so much to do it, because I knew that she was hurting, and badly. Finally, after about half an hour, when I checked again, her neck was healed. With the lightest touch possible, I felt her back, just in case, and felt that it _had _been broken, but had finished healing. Without any hesitation I carefully picked up Lauren's limp form and ran like the wind. I'd barely shut the door behind me when Sally and Josh descended.

"_Is she ok?"_ Sally gasped, floating over, wringing her hands.

"Ok, um, I've got your room set up upstairs for uh, stitches and everything-" Josh rambled, shoving a stake that he'd had drawn back into his pocket and stumbling over.

"Don't touch her," I said sharply as Josh extended a hand towards Lauren. "I brushed off a lot of the dust, but there's still some on her, on me, and everywhere we go." I carefully moved around Josh, who had frozen with a slightly hurt expression and flew up the stairs and into my room, ignoring the salt spread all around the bottom of the walls, broken here and there so that Sally could leave the house if she wanted too. My bed had been dressed in clean sheets and the covers pulled back. Sitting next to it were two chairs and the dining room table. The table was covered with supplies- gauze, a needle and thread for stitches, some heavier bandages, and even some splints. It even had a half a dozen bottles of disinfectant, as well as all of the medicine from the medicine cabinet. I stood there, unsure, before I realized that Lauren was getting hotter and hotter- and that had to be the silver. I had to get it all off of her before we closed any wounds. I turned around and left then, and carried her into the bathroom. Josh and Sally followed close behind. I took a deep breath to try and calm down, and then voiced my thoughts aloud. "We have to clean all the wounds and get all of this silver off of her. We'll need a bath."

"Right," Josh said instantly, plugging the drain and starting to fill the tub with water.

"I'll need a trashbag for her clothes and mine- we'll have to burn them to be safe, and possibly the sheets too, when all is said and done." I said, and Josh winced but turned around and left to get it.

"Do you think she's going to die?" Sally asked quietly, tearfully, as I stood there with Lauren in my arms, waiting for Josh to come back. Her question reminded me that Sally also cared deeply for Lauren- they spent all day together after all.

"No," I said firmly, almost like an oath, and gently lay Lauren down on the floor. I took off my shirt carefully as Josh came back in, wearing a pair of rubber gloves and holding an extra large trash bag. Trying to shake my clothes as little as possible, I stripped to my underwear as Josh hesitantly undressed Lauren, feeling the unnatural heat radiating from her. He was risking a lot by being here- but I needed his help. He turned off the water as I picked Lauren up again, wincing at the heat rolling off of her body and slowly sat down in the water of the tub, holding up her head. I didn't like how hot she was, or how her bones still jutted out in places.

"Disinfecting scrub." Josh's voice cut through my thoughts, and I looked up to see him holding out a white bottle that was clearly from the hospital store room. I took it and poured half the bottle into the tub. Then I lathered up a wash cloth and got to work, scrubbing every inch of her and myself, wringing out the rag in a separate bucket when it was coated in grey. Josh and Sally watched silently, both of them unable to help yet wanting to with all their being. I got out with Lauren, drained the tub, filled it again, used the remaining scrub and then filled it with just water for a rinse. By that time, the water was clear, but Lauren was starting to twitch and jerk slightly as she raged with fever. I dressed the both of us and carried Lauren back to my room.

"Ok," I breathed, "Ok. Her skull was fractured before, but it's healed on its own and there isn't any swelling. Her nose isn't swollen anymore, and we cleaned out all the blood, so, that's ok. Her cheekbone is still healing, but it'll be fine." I talked almost to myself as Josh and Sally hovered on either side of me as I tried to do things logically. "The cut on her head needs stitches." I continued, feeling lightly over the deep, nasty gash.

"I can do that," Josh said firmly, and raised his freshly re-gloved hands when I looked at him. I nodded quickly and went back to my examination.

"Her elbow is fractured," I reported, feeling along her left elbow after finishing her right arm. "One of her ribs was broken, but it's healing. Her hip healed, but it's still not set right, so we'll see how it is later. Other than that, she's just incredibly warm." I worriedly felt her forehead again as she trembled and shivered.

"I'll set her elbow and stitch her head closed." Josh said, obviously in a forced calm like I was.

"I'll clean things up then, _call me_ if you need me." I stressed before reluctantly leaving. Luckily, Sally, having nothing else to do, kept Josh and I up to date with what the other was doing. While I scrubbed down the bathroom with enough bleach to kill any germ on the planet, Josh set Lauren's elbow. When Josh was slowly and methodically stitching closed the cut on Lauren's head, I bleached down the rest of the house. As I burned the clothes Lauren had borrowed from Josh and the clothes I'd been wearing, Josh did up Lauren's ribs to help them heal. "How's it going?" I asked finally, almost an hour later, coming back in and sitting down next to Josh.

"Every injury is either healed or set," Josh said tiredly, rubbing his face. "But nothing I've given her has helped to bring down her fever."

"You're warm too," I said, feeling Josh's forehead for the briefest of seconds. Despite all of our care, he'd breathed in some of the dust. "You should go downstairs." Josh looked like he was going to argue, but then he just nodded silently, got up, and went to walk out the door. His first foot was over the threshold when Lauren choked and started to convulse. "Get her legs!" I cried instantly, leaping up to hold down her arms. Josh yelped in fright in the doorway before running over and getting a firm grip on her bony ankles, holding her still. Lauren whimpered, gasped, and shuddered as her body reacted to the silver in the harshest way possible. Sally hovered, wringing her hands and worrying, but could do nothing. I shifted my grip on Lauren, holding both of her wrists in one hand and applied slight downward pressure to her jaw to keep her from biting off her tongue. Both Josh and I had witnessed seizures at the hospital, but it was infinitely scarier when it was happening to someone you knew and cared for. After about two minutes, Lauren settled back down to the gentle twitches and shudders, relaxing.

"Is she ok?" Josh panted, standing up straight and mopping off his forehead, not at all concerned with his own health. I quickly felt her forehead, checked her breathing and heart rate, and even checked to make sure she hadn't bitten her tongue or cheeks.

"She's cooler," I said, feeling how her temperature had lessened significantly. Even though I had no need to breathe, I took a deep breath to calm myself. I hadn't been expecting Lauren to seize, and now that she had, I was frightened more than I'd ever admit. It seemed to have helped her, but at what cost? "You should still go rest." I told Josh, who sighed in defeat once more and left.

"It's incredible, how strong she is," Sally said quietly, standing at the foot of the bed, watching Lauren struggle to breathe with shining eyes. "Physically and mentally."

"She's very disciplined." I said just as quietly, leaving my ice cold hand on her burning forehead, hoping to provide some relief in any way I could. After watching Lauren's breathing slowly start to ease over the course of two hours, I went downstairs and almost had to force-feed Josh medication. He was hot and shaky. It was nothing compared to Lauren, but it was still a mild case. Now that Bishop and many of the vampires that were loyal to him were dead, Josh and Lauren would have to be on their guard always. The fact that both of them were ill left me strained and forever listening for footsteps.

While Josh slept off his fever, I stayed by Lauren's side, unable to resist the urge to hold one of her hot, bony hands protectively. She seized two more times, once when Josh was asleep, and once when he wasn't. When I had to hold her down myself, I was scared by how easy it was- she didn't even seem solid. When Josh was there, it sparked his possessive nature, and he insisted that he could sit with her for awhile so I could get some rest, even though I had no need to do so. I relented only because of the look on Josh's face. Lauren was one of his kin- and all he had when it came to the dominating, werewolf part of his life. Once we were sure that Lauren's temperature was slowly going down after her latest seizure, I closed the door on the two of them, hoping with all of my heart that Lauren would pull through, for everyone's sake.


	12. Chapter 12

The first thing I was aware of was the sharp scent of bleach, then a warm, slightly calloused hand holding my own. Uncomfortable heat and tiredness made it almost impossible for me to hold onto facts and ideas about what I could smell, hear and feel. After awhile, it became clear that I was hurt and sick- I could feel myself shivering even though I felt like a volcano on the inside. After the vampire had tackled me, my memory was blank. I didn't know if there had been more vampires, if I'd been taken to the hospital, nothing. One steady constant in the room was the gentle breaths of someone next to me, who was probably the same person that was holding my hand. Since this mysterious person was both warm and breathing, I assumed that, for the moment, I wasn't in any trouble with vampires. My eyelids were so heavy, it took me awhile to force them back and keep them open- my body _did not _want to be awake right then. The room was blurry at the edges, but I could clearly make out that for some reason, I was in Aidan's room, and Josh was keeping a vigil by my bedside, holding my hand and examining a long scar going down the back of it with sad eyes.

Seeing him sitting there, caring, further broke my resolve that I wanted to leave, that I was better off alone. I couldn't help it: I was selfish, tempted by the love, security and health I gained by staying with this family. _My _family. The fact that he an Aidan had probably nursed me back to health made my heart ache with a bitter happiness. It had been so long since I'd allowed someone to love me that I didn't know if letting someone love me once more was the right thing to do. It didn't even matter if it was right or wrong anymore, I couldn't help but let them because I loved them right back. When I'd changed into the wolf simply on my need to protect them, I'd realized it deep down inside. "Josh," I whispered painfully, forcing myself to breathe in tight pants, even when it made my lungs burn. Josh leapt about a foot and a half and then quickly moved closer, dropping my hand to feel my forehead. His hand, which had felt warm before, quickly felt like ice when it touched my face.

"Lauren! Thank god—are you ok?" He asked, brushing sweaty hair out of my face. "Aidan!" He called over his shoulder before I could answer, and Aidan instantly appeared and rushed through the doorway to sit beside Josh. Sally shimmered into awareness next to them, wringing her hands.

"How are you feeling?" Aidan asked in a low voice, his dark eyes watching me carefully.

"H-hot," I shivered violently in contradiction to what I'd just said, making my teeth chatter. Josh and Aidan shared a swift, worried glance.

"The vampire who attacked you sprinkled you with silver dust. We got all of it off, but you breathed some of it in. I think this is the reaction to it." Aidan said finally. "We washed you down with sodium hyposulfite to help you get the silver out of you bloodstream. I also have some pills here that are given to patients taking silver salts to neutralize the toxins. They should help." **(A/N: Potassium Iodide is taken in tablet form by patients taking silver salts to remove heavy metals in their blood stream to keep the silver from becoming poisonous. Silver is used in medicine to get heavier, more toxic metals out of the blood stream. Sodium hyposulfite really does help the body in eliminate silver poison.) **

"Silver?" I croaked, feeling my brow crease and pucker under a bandage. I could barely remember the vampire dumping what had looked like glitter all over me. I had no idea that the old myth that silver was deadly to werewolves was actually real.

"It got Josh sick too, for awhile. It was just from the exposure," Aidan added hastily, seeing my eyes widen in alarm. "But it was enough."

"I'm fine," Josh reassured me, squeezing my limp, burning hand. "It was just a mild fever, nothing as serious as your condition."

"How hurt—am I?" I asked after taking a moment just to pant, trying to get used to the feeling of lots of oxygen burning through my lungs. Josh's grip tightened.

"Most of it healed on its own, but the injuries would have been fatal for a human." Aidan said calmly, but his neck was tense, giving away his anxiousness. "You broke your spine and neck, a few ribs, your nose, your elbow, and your skull. Your hip healed again, but it still isn't set right." He summarized when I threw a look at him, telling him to get on with it. I winced almost without realizing as he rattled off the injuries, closing my eyes. Without Aidan and Josh, I surely would have died on that tunnel floor.

"It was the only way to win," I said finally, opening my eyes to look at my family. As I alluded to my changing abilities, Josh held my hand tighter, as if he was expecting me to be swept away by an unknown force.

"How did you do it?" He asked quietly, curiously, watching my face with still worried eyes. I hesitated, unsure how to explain.

"It started way before I-I even knew you three. I was changing a lot- and sometimes I was a wolf more than I was a human. I started to recognize the presence of my human consciousness. Then I could remember places I'd been before, then people. But—I'd never been able to have control over the wolf before now. I knew you were there, and in danger. It was a p-protective instinct that made me change." I said slowly, to keep my breath, unable to look at Josh.

"Wow," Sally said softly when Josh said nothing. I glanced up then. Josh's brow was furrowed as he looked at me. I could tell he was slightly confused, and yet I knew he understood.

"And when you changed back?" Aidan prompted gently, patient even in his thirst to get the whole story.

"I knew you were safe," The answer fell from my lips almost on its own- I didn't even have to think about it. I felt a new flush heat my cheeks in embarrassment of finally being so open with them. The flush only got hotter when Aidan and Josh looked at me in mild surprise. They were pretty used to my dispassionate self. I didn't like to be touched; I didn't like talking about the past, and yet here I was, being touched and talking about the past. I was being honest to boot.

"What are you saying, Lauren?" Aidan asked quietly. I took a deep breath, even though it hurt, and decided to lay it all on the table.

"I fought the feeling of accepting you because I knew it wasn't safe. The fact that you understand that and still care—" I shook my head, cutting myself off before I started to cry. "I know it's wrong, but I want it. I can't fight my instinct to leave you anymore. You three are my family." I said to the blankets, too overwhelmed with emotion to look at them. Their silence was unbearable until-

"Lauren, I love you. We all do. You have no idea how much that means to us." Sally said, voice slightly thick. She and I spent the most time together compared to Aidan and Josh, and she was like my sister and my best friend all rolled into one. That connection made my acceptance all the more bitter.

"I still don't trust myself around you," I said after another long, agonizing patch of silence. "I put everything you've worked for at risk, even your lives. It's not fair. My past shows—shows that I'm not good with people. You shouldn't have to suffer because of me."

"Lauren, what happened with your family wasn't your fault." Aidan said strongly, almost talking over me. "You didn't ask to be a werewolf, and you didn't purposely return home knowing what you'd become just to hurt them. It was beyond your control."

"You should still know what you're dealing with," I said, resigned to the fact that telling them everything would be their last option of getting out before it was too late. I kept my eyes down on purpose- I didn't want to see their faces. Last time I did that, I cried for half an hour in their living room. "You should still know everything—exactly what happened. The truth."

"If you feel you should," Josh said after a moment, his voice so meek and quiet I almost decided to leave it be and let them live in ignorance. I took a deep, shaky breath to steady myself, trying to think of where to begin. I'd avoided doing this since I'd met Aidan and Josh, and for good reason.

"My grandfather started a family business in shipping sensitive items, breakable items, and items that could be confiscated if shipped through the Postal Service. When he died, it was passed on to my dad. By that time, companies like FedEx and UPS were too big and were too restricted by federal law to be considered 'safe' for precious cargo. Smaller companies like my dad's suddenly had a rush of business- people wanted to ship fragile, personal items without interference. This started a huge competition, especially on the East Coast, where I used to live. A business in East Allegheny, in Pittsburgh, started to get really powerful- and the owner wanted a monopoly over all of Pennsylvania. I lived in Lansdale, which is almost the farthest town away from Pittsburgh, and my dad never dreamed of having problems from this guy. When he turned down this guy's business proposal, he went nuts. He started small, slashing my dad's tires, leaving threatening letters, that sort of thing. When my dad didn't do anything, he followed me home from school and abducted me."

"He had no idea what he was doing, not a clue. He had a gun and acted tough, but I could see how nervous he was. He'd driven all the way across the state to mess with my dad, and now had to drive all the way back with a k-kidnapped child. The guy freaked out about halfway through and dumped me in the middle of Allegheny National Forest to keep suspicion away from Pittsburgh and from my hometown. It took a long time, almost all day for me to free myself. By that time, it was dark, and I couldn't follow the tire treads of the truck he'd been driving back to civilization like I'd planned, so I just started walking. The moon was full, so I could at least see shapes around me, but I had no idea where I was or where to go. I w-walked until I found a creek." I paused, closing my eyes. This was where it got nasty, where my life turned into hell. I could remember this part with perfectly clarity, like I was actually there. "When I went to get a drink, I heard an animal move in the brush across the creek, and that scared me. I made it halfway up the bank before it caught me."

"By that time, my parents had reported me missing and the police were trying to find me. Since the other businessman had been so obvious in his actions, they caught him fairly quickly and he spilled his guts about dropping me in the forest. The next morning, around dawn, they found me by that creek bed. The wolf that mauled me had scratched at my front and bit me around the waist-and there was b-blood everywhere. I was 'lucky', I suppose, that they found me when they did. I was rushed to the nearest hospital, and recovered at a pace that baffled the doctors there. That was the werewolf part of me already taking over. At the end of two weeks, I was back home. My parents' nerves were shattered, and they insisted on being with me always. It was that closeness that made me start to realize that something was wrong with me. I could feel something wild inside me, something _animal. _It drove me crazy, and my parents, being so protective, noticed. By the time the full moon came around again, all they wanted to do was help me. When they didn't listen to my requests to be alone, they watched me t-transform. I killed my dad first, then my mom and brother. The wolf was so wild it killed our family dog too." By the time I'd finished, cool tears were leaking out of my eyes and soothing my burning skin. I'd been faintly aware of the fact that I'd been watching my family die, but I thought it was a hallucination, a dream.

"In the morning, I woke up in our kitchen. The whole house was destroyed and covered with blood. My family's remains were so scattered and mangled that at first I didn't even realize they were bodies. When I did, and when I put it together that I had been the one to kill them, I panicked. I ran away from home and tried to kill myself in New Jersey by jumping off a cliff. When it didn't work, I knew that living with what I'd become for the rest of my life wouldn't be punishment enough for my crimes, yet when I tried to take the easy way out and commit suicide again, I discovered that I still healed too quickly to die. I wandered up the coast, avoiding densely populated areas like New York City until I started to get a bit more control. When Ray started pestering me, I skipped out of Connecticut and into a bigger city, Boston, hoping to lose him, and I've been here ever since." I finished my story hastily, wiping salt off my face, still not looking at Aidan, Sally or Josh.

"How old were you?" Aidan asked finally, voice barely composed.

"Ten," I whispered, making the mistake of looking up as I spoke. Aidan's eyes flashed with the one of the deepest levels of grief I'd ever seen as I answered. His whole body tensed as if he expected to be hit. "My last name was Rittenhouse. My dad's name was Tom, my mom Edith and my brother Sam." Without saying another word, Josh swiftly leaned over and hugged me. For the first time in six years I let myself hug someone back. I embraced Josh with all my strength, trying desperately not to cry, shaking even harder with the effort not to. Josh didn't say anything, just held onto me, swaying us slightly to and fro as I shuddered, glad that my face was buried into his shoulder.


	13. Chapter 13

"Ow! Ow, fuck!" I gasped. A week had passed since I'd finally told Josh, Aidan and Sally the truth, and all of the truth. Now that I'd given in like the selfish little bitch I was, life seemed a bit more connected, a bit more in unison. As soon as I had stopped trying not to cry, Josh, Aidan and Sally had talked to me, soothed me, and calmed me down. Then they'd doped me up with enough medication to kill a horse, hoping to heal me as fast as possible. With the help of my freaky-super-fast healing powers, all of my injuries had healed except for one.

My damn hip.

"Easy, easy," Aidan coached, maintaining his gentle but firm grip on my wrist and around my shoulders. He was helping me get out of bed for the first time, and my hip, which had shattered again, didn't heal properly. It _hurt. _Slowly, I extended my left leg again until my heel almost touched the floor. At that moment, my hip always had to rotate downwards- and that sent shooting pains up my leg.

"Ouch! Dammit, ow!" I swore again, quickly holding my leg back up to erase the pain. "This isn't going to work," I told Aidan, taking a deep breath. According to him, as he'd studied the x-ray I had taken at the hospital all those months ago, the head and neck of my femur (the part of your leg bone that meets with your hip) and my pelvic bone on the left side had all shattered. He guessed that all of the pieces had gotten mixed up and that as the bones reformed at their super fast rate, little hunks of bone stuck out from the whole bones' usual shape, stabbing into my muscles. He also assumed that because I'd shattered my pelvic bone so many times the head of my femur didn't even fit properly into the joint, giving me the limp.

"We just need to stretch the muscle." Aidan said reassuringly from behind me, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Always the optimist, Aidan was.

"To do that I'm going to have to get shit-faced drunk," I told him, and we stared at each other a moment. I was waiting for him to give in, and he was waiting for me to take back what I'd said. I knew that he hated me going back to my old habits, but I'd formed those habits for a reason- they always worked.

"Fine," He sighed finally, helping me ease back down to sit on the edge of the bed. Sitting also hurt, but not as badly as stretching out my leg and rotating the bones.

"This is going to be fun! I haven't seen anyone drunk in a long time. Are you a happy drunk, a mad drunk, or a sleepy drunk?" Sally asked, appearing from nowhere, grinning ear to ear as Aidan walked past her, presumably to get the alcohol I'd need.

"Um, I don't know. Usually I burn off the alcohol before I can get drunk. I don't think I've ever been totally drunk before. It was a lot more expensive than most other drugs on the street so I'd always opt for something else." I said, pondering what she'd asked.

"Excellent, so this is an experiment! I'm glad Josh isn't here, he'd poo-poo on it." Sally said, half joking, half serious. Josh was putting in a shift at the hospital, armed to the teeth with stakes. I'd tried to make Aidan go along to keep an eye on him, but everyone else insisted that I couldn't be left alone.

"Okay," Aidan said uncertainly, suddenly appearing in the doorway to his own room, arms full of bottles. "I figured we'd need a lot, so…" He carefully deposited all of them on the dining room table a few feet away, along with a bottle opener.

"What's the proof?" I asked, feeling slightly nervous. I had never been completely smashed before, and I didn't know how I'd react. I really didn't want to start puking all over the floor.

"Holy _shit_, Aidan! You got booze that's 80% alcohol?" Sally asked, reading over his shoulder.

"Wow," I said, starting to grin as Aidan scowled. "Someone was a drinker in a past life."

"Shut up both of you," he muttered, opening a bottle of vodka and handing it to me, looking slightly apprehensive.

"Bottom's up," I toasted him and Sally before leaning back on one hand so that I could properly chug. Aidan's eyes grew by about two sizes as I drank half of the bottle in one shot.

"You should meet Josh's sister. That girl could drink three times her weight in liquor. You'd give her a run for her money." Sally giggled as I chugged the last half. I felt very warm, but I could still easily think and function, and, most importantly, feel.

"Another bottle, please. That did nothing," I said, screwing the cap back on the empty bottle and trading Aidan for a full one.

**OoOoOoO**

"Holy shit," I slurred five bottles later, then hiccupped. I'd never felt this way in my entire life. Everything was warm, alive and swirly around the edges. It was so…_dynamic._

"Stand up, Lauren," Aidan said, and I did.

"What?" I accused, holding my arms out wide, an invitation for him to mess with me, start a fight, whatever. Bring it. I could take him. Aww yeah.

"Your hip doesn't hurt?" Sally questioned, fighting down giggles.

"What, this one?" I asked, pointing to my left hip. "Fuck no. It's as good as it was the day I was born- fucking _awesome. _I mean, look," I spun on my foot and kicked up high with my left leg, my knee nearly brushing my face. Then I sank all the way down into the splits. "I'm like a goddamn circus performer, a gymnast. Dude, I am _so _flexible." I felt it was urgent to tell Sally as much as possible, like she didn't understand. I simply had to tell her everything on my mind.

"Um, Lauren? Are you sure you're ok?" Aidan asked again, watching me with slightly worried eyes.

"Hell yes, I'm great. I'm more than great. I'm riding a unicorn through a sea of pure liquid gold I'm so dandy." I said, getting to my feet. "Why do people freak out about getting drunk? I mean, _seriously? _Cause this is—dude, it's like I'm me, but I'm just—_awesome._" I finished, rolling my shoulders, shaking out all my muscles. Gymnastics sounded really cool right then, and I was eager to try it. For a few minutes I did backflips and cartwheels around the room, occasionally running into a wall or the bed and laughing my head off.

"Can you walk in a straight line?" Sally asked, wiping tears from her eyes. She'd been laughing as hard as I had. I gave her a salute then walked to the door and then back to the bed in a straight line.

"It's like she's not drunk at all," Aidan mused to himself, watching me, half surprised, half amused. When I'd started flipping around, he'd almost stopped me until I told him to step off of the world's first Olympic gold winning werewolf, which started him chuckling.

"Hey, I'm home!" Josh yelled from downstairs, the sound of the door slamming echoing up the staircase.

"Come have a drink!" I hollered back, and there was a pause as Josh raced up the stairs. He looked at me, to Sally, to Aidan, to the booze, then back to me in about thirty seconds. "Straight up or on the rocks? Seriously, dude, chill out and have a drink." I said, going for a bottle before Aidan caught my hand, stopping me.

"What did you do?" Josh asked slowly to Aidan and Sally, looking at me in bewilderment.

"She couldn't stretch her leg out far enough because of her hip, so I told her that we'd have to stretch out the muscles. She wouldn't try it unless she was drunk." Aidan summarized.

"You're damn right. I couldn't even move this damn thing, and now I'm like a fuckin' rubber band." I said, propping my foot up on the edge of the table and bending over my leg until I was hugging it. Josh made a noise between a wince and a whimper, flinching in the doorway at my display.

"Is that safe?" he asked as I came back up, grinning like an idiot.

"I haven't heard anything to suggest that she's re-fracturing the bones, so…yes, it's safe." Aidan said, steering me back to the bed. As I sat down, the world became a bit less blurred. A second later, my mind seemed to be hit by a blast of icy, minty wind, refreshing it, clearing it of the fun, happy feeling it had a second ago. Everything was still warm, though. I blinked a few times, not used to the feeling, until I remembered with perfect clarity what I'd just been doing.

"It's wearing off. Ugh, did I really do that?" I said, rubbing my forehead with a frown, making Sally burst into giggles.

"Do what?" Josh asked, apprehensive, but Aidan and Sally ignored him, starting to crack up.

"Yes, you did. How's the hip feeling?" Aidan asked, extending a hand to help me up. I took it slowly and eased myself back up onto my feet, tensing in anticipation of pain. When none came, I felt myself grin. I bent my knees slightly, experimentally, and there was no pain.

"Like nothing ever happened…minus the limp," I said, walking around Aidan's bed, the limp automatically there, and it was worse than usual. But there was no pain- just a bit of stiffness, even with the extreme stretches I'd been doing.

"She metabolized five bottles of 80 proof vodka in half an hour." Aidan told Josh, whose eyes bugged out of his head at the very thought of that much liquor.

"I'm just full of surprises." I said, coming back around to stand in the group.

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><p><strong>Short but sweet. Sorry for the wait.<strong>

**blackorchestrafreak**


	14. Chapter 14

After waiting a few days to make sure that no other vampires left loyal to Bishop would come and try to kill me again, I finally convinced the guys to let me go back to my old woods and experiment around with transforming at will. Aidan had been voiced strongly against the idea, saying that it would take a toll on my body and could be life-threatening. I told him that I couldn't just ignore the fact that I could do this crap whenever I wanted, and Josh and Sally sided with me. Overruled, Aidan had to agree. As we drove, I was nervous- the silver had left me so sick that I could barely remember that night. The fact that I'd transformed purely because I wanted to felt more like a dream than reality. The whole way there I was either drumming my fingers on any available surface or letting my foot shake with a mind of its own. I knew that the guys didn't miss it. I felt a lot better when I was able to walk through my woods again; the smell of pine on the breeze made me a lot calmer. I slowly came to a halt under my tree, unsure of what I wanted to do next. I had transformed for two reasons; I'd been pissed off and I was anxious to protect Aidan and Josh. Both of those emotions were strong, driving forces. All I felt now was nervous. "I'm just not totally sure what to do first." I voiced out loud, not having to turn around to realize that I was confusing Aidan, Josh and Sally. "The whole experience is still a little fuzzy."

"Well, whatever you do, save your clothes. I think that's your last non-hobo shirt." Sally said, and I laughed quietly. She was probably right, however, and saving my clothes meant stripping off.

"Ok, yeah, one sec," I said, and walked around my tree for some privacy. I was painfully aware that the guys had seen me naked on more than one occasion, and the less they saw me when I could control it, the better. Once naked, I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and finding the inner wolf. Now that I'd connected with her, I realized that she wasn't a bitch. She was a different part of my personality- not a completely different one. She was a lot less hasty than me, but she was even more persistent than me, if that was possible. However, the one thing we did agree on was our emotions. Both of us were fiercely protective and loyal. _So, um, do you want to come on out? _I asked myself shyly, stupidly. There was a pause.

_You want me to? _She was very surprised by this. For our entire existence I'd shunned her, insulted her, blamed her, swore at her, you name it. This invitation had to come as a shock.

_I want to practice this- you and I, existing together. I don't want it to hurt either. We can work together and negotiate. It doesn't have to be so hard._ I gave her my quick speech I'd thought up on the way over here, hoping that it would work. I wasn't great with words and I honestly had no idea what to say.

_I'll try not to hurt you. I don't like it when I hurt you, but it's hard to meld us together and to take us apart. _She said, sounding distressed. I automatically bent a little at the knees, bracing for the pain. Very slowly, I felt her start to come up, tingling my spine and making me shiver. Then the pain started. To my surprise, it was a lot less intense than usual, enough so that when I gritted my teeth and hastily got on all fours, preparing for the next step, I didn't writhe around and scream.

"Lauren?" I heard Josh ask hesitantly, hearing me stumble. The sound of his voice deepened got slower, and then sped up incredibly as the speed of my change halted and then raced to the finish, as if my inner wolf lost her grip and dropped something. A few shrieks later, I was cautiously standing up as my family came skidding around the tree, anxious as usual.

_I'm sorry. It's so hard to become part of you slowly. I lost control there at the end. Are you alright? _My wolf asked me. Her voice was coming from a different place now. Before, I felt her more in my body. Now, it was like I had an independent consciousness in my head. It was _weird. _

"You did it again," Josh said in surprise, gingerly walking closer as if he still expected me to rip his head off. I assured my inner wolf that I was fine and thanked her for her effort to go slowly. Then, I nudged Josh playfully in the chest, as if to punish him for doubting me.

"It's really that easy?" Aidan asked, looking a little cautious. I let out a huff, stretching my back. It was incredibly how _limber_ I felt as a wolf. I knew that when I switched back there would be hell to pay, but, for the moment, I felt good. Josh fluffed one of my ears, giving me a smirk when I shot him a look.

"You know, it's surprising how soft you are," Josh commented, continuing to scratch behind my ears like I was a cat. An odd feeling came from his touch and it took me a minute to realize that _I _wasn't feeling pleasure. It was my inner wolf's emotion, not mine.

_He would make a good mate._ She thought to herself. In shock, I skidded away from Josh's touch, hoping that I had heard her wrong, even though I instantly understood her. The idea made me nauseous.

_What are you talking about? _I snarled at her, making my family take a simultaneous step back as a real snarl snuck past my fangs. _Josh is family- a friend. Besides, he's got at least ten years on me! No!_

"Lauren?" Aidan half called, half warned me, pushing Josh behind him. Sally, undaunted now that she remembered that I couldn't hurt her, took the lead, coming slowly back over.

_Why not? He is strong. I feel his wolf even now. Don't you? _She asked me, sounding offended. Apparently she didn't' like being disagreed with- but that bitch would have to learn to like it. Josh was and always would be off limits.

_I've felt his presence, yes, but we don't __**have to**__ mate. I don't __**want **__to mate with Josh. I don't want to mate period! _I snarled again at her, furious that she would even suggest such a thing. Before she or my family could say anything else, I turned and booked it through the trees, ignoring pain in my hip to run faster than I ever had before. Once I was far enough away, I slowed down and then limped to a stop. _We will never mate. Not ever. _I swore to my inner-wolf. A heartbeat later, she responded.

_It is our duty to carry on a bloodline. I will make no effort to mask my feelings for Josh. _She protested stubbornly, laying an ultimatum. I felt my lip curl in distaste. She may have a part of my consciousness, but I was running the show here. I would never take her seriously, not after this.

_I hope you're happy with disappointment then. _I shot back, slowly walking back the way I had come. Now that I'd gotten away from Josh, I was confident that I could handle myself and the inner-wolf at the same time. I was slightly disgusted with her; I'd completely underestimated her and judged her in such a wrong way that I felt stupid for not knowing this about myself. It made me wonder if my subconscious wanted to mate with Josh- and that made me feel even worse. In my heart, I felt for sure that I didn't want to- so where did this all come from?

_What about the other one, the older one then? If this is a question of mating material, he would also do. He isn't nearly as young, but if he's lived this long he must have experience. _She tried to make a compromise. Confused, I stopped for a moment.

_Who? _I asked her, not sure of who she was talking about.

_The one who has followed you from the beginning. _She answered, and sent me a memory of her picking up his scent for the first time. The smell of him burned in my nose until I was ready to kill. _What's wrong with this one? _She demanded, sensing my anger.

_**I will not mate with RAY. **_ I let out a fearsome snarl, turning and slashing a nearby tree almost completely in half in my fury. _How could you even suggest-_

_I see I'm getting nowhere with you, _She cut me off sourly. _Fine, then. Change back and abandon me until the full moon. But think about what I've said. You will not be able to resist the same urges soon enough. _

Desperate to rid myself of her, I fled back to where my family was waiting and hid behind the tree. In my impatience to get rid of her, it hurt a lot more than I wanted it too. "Lauren?" Aidan called as I wrenched on my clothes, wincing when joints popped and cracked.

"It's nothing," I said shortly, coming around from behind the tree and picking up the bag I'd packed, rummaging in it for water. "You were right, Aidan- this isn't a good idea." I added sharply, seeing that he was going to interrupt. He blinked, surprised that I was suddenly agreeing with him. "Let's leave." I pushed, finishing the water and slinging the bag on my still sore shoulders. "Come on!" I very nearly yelled in impatience when Sally, Aidan and Josh just stared at me, dumbfounded.

"What happened, what's wrong?" Josh asked, looking at me with concern. I knew that he'd been very excited about this happening to me in hopes that one day he could control it himself. I could barely stand his glance on my face. Deep inside, my inner-wolf shifted in delight.

"She's a bitch," I said hotly, crossing my arms and turning my face away. "Now can we _go?_ Now, please?" I struggled to keep my temper, knowing that if I got too mad I'd transform again.

"What? I thought you two were getting along!" Sally interjected. She was home every day and had listened to me describe this inner-wolf of mine. Sally was all for naming her, but that's the last thing I wanted.

"Well, now were not, alright? Can we drop this and go _home?" _I raised my voice this time, not in the mood for games.

"If that's what you want," Aidan said calmly, but his eyes were still full of worry.

"Yes, dammit, that is what I want." I nearly snarled, then turned away from them and strode off between the trees, putting as much distance between myself and Josh as possible. Now that this wolf had suggested the unthinkable with him, the area around Josh was suddenly a poisonous environment. I could feel my inner-wolf looking at him now, smelling, assessing. It made me sick to my stomach.

"Do you think something went wrong?" I heard Josh ask Aidan very quietly, but not quietly enough. My heart twanged and I pushed on faster, angrily shoving brush out of my way.

"She'll talk when she's ready. This is a scary process for her, for all of us. Let's just take things as they come." Aidan continued in his calm, professional voice.

_Just think about it. _My inner-wolf pushed again. Furious, I broke into a run, trying to leave her thoughts behind.

**OoOoOoO**

Over the next few days, I maintained a cool distance between everyone in the house for several reasons. One, I didn't want to just single out Josh and treat him like a pariah because my psycho-horny inner-wolf wanted him to fuck me. Two, I was so angry that I didn't want to lash out like I usually did. Three, I didn't feel like any of them would understand. It was gross, embarrassing, and frightening to think that a part of me wanted to act without my permission in ways that disgusted me. It made me afraid of myself all over again. What if during my next period my wolf got out and decided to go at Josh like nobody's business? What if during the next full moon my wolf tried something stupid? Josh had his own life, needs, and wants. I knew that he tried to flirt with girls at the hospital when he felt up to it, and he shouldn't have to worry that at home he had a crazy minor werewolf chick who somewhere deep inside wanted to screw him to start a new bloodline. It wasn't his concern, and as long as _his _wolf didn't pick up on it, my secret would be safe.

During my next period I insisted that I needed to spend the time _alone _in the woods. Instead of fighting with my wolf, I let her take over and I ran around the forest all day long trying not to kill things and trying to keep my inner-wolf from thinking about Josh. It was a dirty, tiring process, but it worked. My new attitude baffled my family, but they followed Aidan's advice and tried to be patient. To make up for my new oddity, I tried to be exceptionally cooperative when it came to anything else. I let Aidan bring home course books that qualified kids for a GED if they were completed and worked on them without complaint. I promised Sally I wouldn't tattle on her when she ran off with other ghosts friends or when she went back to haunt Danny and Bridget from time to time. I didn't complain when Josh came home late or when Aidan was gone for days at a time. I tried to put the ugly past of my inner-wolf behind me.

But she wasn't letting go without a fight. She periodically sent me memories of Ray and Josh and pointed out things that would make them good mates. She tried boiling to the surface whenever Josh walked into a room. She talked constantly of what it would be like to have her own pups. Her antics made me progressively angrier until I knew I would reach a dangerous level…

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><p><strong>Hi! Sorry this was so long coming, but I've been tied up with a lot of other things. I hope you enjoyed this and the chapters to come!<strong>

**(Also, I know it's been awhile, and I just want to assure you that YES I changed my username. Sorry if that confused you!)**

**bitchinblackframedglasses**


	15. Chapter 15

As the days passed, I felt like I'd settled into a pattern. I'd work all day at home on earning the equivalent of a high school diploma. I was still very wary around the house- my wolf was still playing games with me. Sally was adamant on naming her before, but she'd taken notice on how I didn't like her and had quit asking about it. Some days I did other things, but I'd really thrown myself into earning this diploma. When I had my period, I insisted on staying in the woods in wolf form in order to blow off as much steam as possible. My wolf hated that I did that, but I still had enough control to keep her from running home and doing horrible, unspeakable things to Josh. It made me feel very safe to know that Josh and I were transforming in two different locations. However, I was very, _very _unhappy with him. Josh was seeing a nurse at the hospital who was a normal, human being.

_A human. _

As a werewolf, it wasn't a viable option for him to be dating humans. He was a monster, uncontrollable and deadly. I knew that he was doing it because he longed for a connection, a relationship, but I'd shut down the idea that I deserved happiness with someone a long time ago. Maybe it was because I'd been a werewolf for most of my life and Josh was still fairly new, but I still loathed him slightly for his ideas about interacting with normal humans. He and Aidan were so worried about letting me leave the house to interact in society and then they go and flirt with humans, have relationships with humans. Their hypocritical nature made me want to scream. I could recall the exact conversation I'd had with Josh when I first found out. It had started with Josh pressuring me to go and hang out in the woods on a night where I wasn't PMSing or expecting to turn into a wolf. I'd been working on my GED like every other night.

"_How's the progress with your wolf coming?" He asked as I drummed my pencil on the table, trying to understand the question being asked to me. I stopped drumming. He knew that I hated talking about it and yet he was bringing it up? Why?_

"_It's fine," I said shortly, going back to my question about hyperbolas. _

"_You're spending a lot of time on that diploma," Josh interrupted again, sounding nervous. _

"_I kind of need it to get a job." I said, letting my words get a bit sarcastic as I spoke. My inner wolf pushed at my insides as if to get closer to Josh and I moved away slightly, trying not to grit my teeth and swear out loud. _

"_I think you should practice with your wolf more often. I think it would help. Tonight is supposed to be pretty clear- and warm." Josh had suggested, awkwardly rubbing his neck. I slowly put down my pencil and looked at him, realizing now that he was very nervous and awkward, more so than usual, and had on a nicer shirt- was he going out?. Then I realized that he wanted something from me. _

"_Can I help you, Josh?" I asked, trying to ignore how my wolf got all excited when I said his name, as if my wolf was an excited little tween. _

"_He wants you to leave so that he can have a date with his girlfriend in the house tonight." Sally said, appearing behind me on the couch. "What? I'm getting to the point while you stand there looking like an idiot." Sally defended herself as Josh shot her a disgruntled look. _

"_Sorry, did you say date? Girlfriend? Since when?" I demanded, not moving an inch. Josh blushed slightly._

"_Since this afternoon when I asked her over for dinner." He said, looking proud of himself. I just looked at him in disbelief, trying to grasp it. He was reaching out to __**humans, **__getting into relationships with __**humans**__? Was he crazy?_

"_Is she human?" I asked, voice sharper than I'd intended. Josh rubbed his neck faster, looking at the floor. "You're dating a __**human**__?" I raised my voice as my tone turned furious. "Josh, are you insane?" I demanded, glaring at him. _

"_Lauren, it's just a date," Sally said, sounding slightly surprised. I whirled to glare at her. _

"_No, it's not just a date, Sally. What if it goes somewhere? What if you two get serious and she starts to notice that you start acting weird every month? What if you hurt__her, Josh, or worse yet- kill her?" I asked, standing up, putting my hands on my bony hips. _

"_I'm careful, Lauren. I won't let it get like that." Josh said defensively. I gaped at him, feeling true anger for the first time in a long time, anger that had gotten me in trouble on the streets. _

"_Josh, you are a __**werewolf.**__" I said very clearly, hearing the acid in my tone. "You can't get into a relationship with a human- it's __**not **__safe! Period!" I said angrily, working very hard not to swear at him. _

"_Lauren, I interact with humans on a daily basis- I can't just ignore them! I have human needs just like them. I'm safe, I'm responsible, and I'm careful." Josh said, sounding like he was rehearsing an argument he'd had with himself. _

"_If you do let it go farther, if the relationship lasts- what will you do? You can't just tell her over dinner sometime! What if she tells people? What if she doesn't accept you?! It's a stupid idea Josh, and I think you're insane." I said harshly, going into the foyer and getting my coat. "If you want me out of the house to have your date tonight, fine," I said in the entry as I jerked on my coat, easily ignoring the hurt 'puppy-dog' look on Josh's face, "but if you hurt this girl, or any other girl, I'll make you pay for it." I swore, before storming out the door and into the street, heading for my woods. _

Since that argument I'd been cooler to Josh than I ever had before. Aidan and Sally had tried to talk to me about it, but I was steadfast in my opinion. Relationships with non-monsters didn't work, they never had and they never would. I didn't ask about his dates, and Josh didn't tell, even though I started to be able to smell her in the house after she came over. It didn't help that my other personality also despised the idea of Josh dating someone. My inner wolf was incredibly jealous about the idea of Josh seeing someone, and often times pushed me to be a bit bitchier than I usually would have. Josh's decision to continue to see this girl pushed a wedge between us until we were only saying a few words to each other per week. Somewhere deep inside I wanted to try and talk to Josh again to see if I could get some sense into him, but I knew that I'd get too angry with him and it would only end up in a fight.

As his relationship with his girlfriend, _Nora, _continued to improve, our friendship steadily decreased until I was hardly in the house when he was. I had Aidan turn in my GED requirements and get me the stupid little diploma that he insisted on framing and putting on the bookshelf for the whole household to see. Now that I had the paperwork, I instantly applied for work until I was finally accepted at a shitty little convenience store. I worked there part time and spent the rest of my time mostly in the woods. I trimmed back the time I spent at home considerably until Sally had to come and find me in the woods to talk. I knew that she and Aidan were really worried, and that Josh may have been worried too, but every moment I spent around them my inner wolf had something nasty to say about them. She didn't like Sally because she'd been too 'independent' of a woman in her past life, and She hated Aidan because he was 'weak' enough to kill other beings to live. Her arrogance and hatred made me want to scream.

One night, I returned home unexpectedly. I really didn't want too, but I could tell that it was going to rain- eliminating the idea of me sleeping out in the woods that night. As I came in the door, unzipping my coat, I smelled her…and then something else. "Lauren? What are you doing home?" Sally asked, appearing from nowhere, looking shocked. Before I could answer, Aidan came around the corner.

"We're having dinner tonight. If you can handle it and be nice, stay. If not, go." He said in an undertone, setting a high ultimatum. I ignored him. I could sense something wrong with Josh's girlfriend. Something was there, something was different, something was wrong. Inside me, my inner wolf wailed with distress.

_What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong with Nora._ I demanded of her, somehow realizing that She new what was going on here. Hysteria rose up my throat as a million possibilities raced through my mind. What my wolf said, however, was the last thing I could have possibly imagined.

_He already mated! _My wolf wailed in distress, dreams of mating with Josh crushed. It took me a moment to understand what she was saying. When I did, I felt my spine start to shake as incredible anger flashed down my nerves. Josh had gotten Nora _pregnant. __**PREGNANT. **_Red hot stars flashed in front of my eyes and a growl built in my throat.

"Lauren, calm down." Aidan hissed, taking me by the shoulders as the trembling rose in severity. "Go, _go,_" he insisted, pushing me out the door. On wobbly legs I was running, running through the streets of Boston until I made it to my forest. In the pouring rain I managed to strip off before bursting out of my skin so fast I thought I was going to die.

My wolf was inconsolable. Her grief was so deep that she took over and then I was running and running, my anger fueling her when she got tired. Trees were slashed. The ground was torn up. Thunder was the only sound that masked her howls and snarls of grief, agony and rejection. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that I was risking injuring myself or falling ill from running and slashing and rolling through the forest, but I was too angry to care. The more primal instincts of my body took over as emotion drowned out all sense of reason. I had no idea how far I went before I finally got her to slow down and stop. I was almost at the edge of the forest- that meant I'd run almost seven acres, leaving a trail of destruction in my wake. My wolf was trembling and not responding to my questions, so I left her alone. With that off my plate, I slowly got myself to change back.

My body was so tired that I instantly slumped onto the muddy forest floor. I was covered in filth, bruises and cuts, but I didn't care. Now that I was 'me' again, I was incredibly furious with Josh, but so much that I was bursting out of my skin to become a werewolf. I'd warned him that if he messed up with a human that I'd fuck him up, and I was more than willing to follow through on that threat. It made me very sad that Josh, someone I trusted, would do something this awful. Bitter disappointment almost made me cry, but I hardly ever cried for a reason. _Stop being a little bitch. _I told myself sharply, trying to stand up with the aid of a tree I'd almost cut in half with my fury.

It was extremely late by the time I'd walked out of the forest and found the closest house. I stole clothing, figuring it wasn't worth walking all the way back through the acres upon acres of forest that I had ran through just to find my own garments. I was cold, angry, and extremely sore, but I climbed a tree so that I could sulk and sleep in relative safety. As I stared up at the stars, trying to fall asleep, I felt pang after pang of despair. I felt as if the fresh start I had made with Aidan, Josh and Sally was completely destroyed. If it came down to it, I knew that Aidan and Sally would side with Josh and I'd be out on my own again, but I couldn't bring myself to forgive Josh. I'd tried to warn him, and now look at the mess he was in.

He'd gotten the bitch pregnant.

Panic loomed in my chest for him. What would the baby be like? Would the child be a werewolf too? If it was, Josh would have to tell Nora. What if she rejected him, told on him? What if Josh hurt Nora- what if the _baby _hurt Nora? What would happen to the child- who would take care of it, and how could anyone teach someone from such an early age to be so controlled, so careful? It was hard for _me _to control myself, and I was barely an adult. Telling a toddler to suck it up and stop being a little bitch really wasn't an option- and yet that is what someone would have to do if they were going to keep that child and the world safe from each other.

"Fuck," I groaned under my breath, popping sore joints and pressing the baggy clothes I'd stolen to still bleeding cuts, trying to keep my nerve and not give in to my emotion again. There was only so much forest to destroy- and giving in to myself had always been a dangerous, destructive process, if how I'd first learned to transform at will was any example. I made myself a promise not to let it happen again- the toll on the environment around me, my friends, and my body was too steep.

Despite my lingering anger, I knew that Josh, Aidan and Sally wouldn't try to find me until tomorrow, when the rain had stopped and Nora was gone. I wanted to go apeshit on him now, and it was taxing my patience to make me wait until daylight. _How could he do that? _My inner wolf thought weakly, bitterly. For a moment, I almost agreed with her until I realized we were thinking about different things. She was referencing the fact that Josh had fucked someone besides me/us/her. I was referencing the fact that he'd fucked a human being and got her pregnant.

_Shut up and grow a pair. _ I snapped at her. Her comment had only made me angrier at Josh for his unparalleled stupidity. I spent the rest of the night being rained on as I burned hotter and hotter with anger that would only be released with a possibly bloody confrontation with Josh.


End file.
